Liwei Teng

Habitat fragmentation poses a major threat to endangered species by isolating populations and disrupting gene flow. The vulnerable Chinese water deer ( Hydropotes inermis ) in northeastern China offers a critical case for understanding how fragmented landscapes influence genetic viability. Through noninvasive sampling of 286 individuals genotyped at 11 microsatellite loci and mitochondrial markers, we evaluated genetic diversity, structure, and dispersal dynamics. Although microsatellite diversity was moderate (mean H _e = 0.661), positive F _is values indicated inbreeding or nonrandom mating within local groups. Surprisingly, population genetic structure was extremely weak (overall F _st = 0.008), and contemporary gene flow remained high, revealing that connectivity persists despite extensive habitat fragmentation. Our analyses show that this connectivity is maintained primarily through female‐biased dispersal—a striking contrast to the male‐biased dispersal typical of most artiodactyls. Higher female assignment indices and a greater proportion of females identified as recent dispersers consistently supported this pattern. Mitochondrial data further suggested a historical population expansion, providing context for the current genetic composition. These findings indicate that female‐mediated movement functions as a natural genetic rescue mechanism, mitigating the genetic drift and inbreeding expected in small, isolated populations. From a conservation perspective, this behavioral adaptation is essential for sustaining population viability. Effective management should therefore prioritize the protection and restoration of habitat corridors that facilitate female movement, ensuring that natural dispersal processes continue to maintain genetic health and long‐term persistence of Chinese water deer in northeastern China.

Seasonal variation can strongly restructure the gut microbiota of herbivores, but under captive conditions it remains unclear whether these shifts outweigh host-species effects when diet is standardized. Here, we profiled the gut microbiota of captive mouflon, argali, and blue sheep in summer and winter using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing, ASV-based compositional beta-diversity analysis, ANCOM-BC2, and PICRUSt2 functional prediction. Across hosts, Chao1 richness decreased in winter, whereas Shannon diversity remained comparatively stable, indicating that seasonal change affected richness more strongly than evenness. CLR-based ordination further showed that the three species were relatively close in summer but became more clearly separated in winter, especially mouflon and blue sheep, consistent with pronounced seasonal restructuring under a common diet. At the phylum level, summer communities were broadly similar and dominated by Firmicutes_A and Bacteroidota, whereas winter brought stronger taxonomic shifts in mouflon and blue sheep, including marked increases in Proteobacteria and Firmicutes_D. Argali showed a narrower and taxonomically different seasonal response. Genus-level analyses similarly indicated that winter restructuring was host-dependent rather than uniform, with winter-associated enrichment of several Bacillales/Planococcaceae-related lineages and Proteobacteria-associated taxa, particularly in mouflon and blue sheep. Predicted functional profiles inferred by PICRUSt2 also shifted between summer and winter within each host species, suggesting that seasonal restructuring extended beyond taxonomy, although these results should be interpreted as inferred functional potential rather than direct metabolic activity. Overall, our findings support seasonality as the primary axis of gut microbiota variation in captivity, while the host species modulates the magnitude and taxonomic features of these seasonal changes. These results highlight the need to consider seasonal effects in captive management and provide a basis for future multi-omics validation of host-microbiome interactions in wild ungulates.

The genus Moschus , or musk deer, is endemic to Asia and comprises seven species that live from alpine meadows to dense forests. Musk deer are renowned for producing musk, a substance highly prized in traditional medicine and perfumery, which has led to severe poaching and dramatic population declines. With global climate change, the expansion of human activities such as agriculture, road construction and illegal logging has significantly increased the destruction of musk deer habitat, further threatening the survival of these species. Legal protections, including national level I status in China and CITES Appendix I listing, have been implemented to combat poaching and support conservation, but the population status of musk deer remains precarious. For a long time, the classification of musk deer has been confusing and not clearly recognized, which is not conducive to the conservation of musk deer and the development and implementation of policy, resulting in a lack of attention to the species. This study provides a comprehensive review of the historical taxonomic and evolutionary background of musk deer and presents their current global distribution and conservation status. This work aims to enhance public understanding of these threatened species and inform ongoing conservation efforts.

Hemidactylus bowringii Gray, 1845, a species of the family Gekkonidae, has garnered attention due to its ecological significance and adaptability to diverse environments. The mitochondrial DNA of H. bowringii was packaged as a compact 17,091 bp circular molecule with an A + T content of 53.8%. It contains 37 typical mitochondrial genes, including 13 protein-coding genes, 2 rRNAs, 22 tRNAs, and 1 non-coding region. We reconstructed a phylogenetic tree based on the mitogenome sequences of 17 species and two outgroups (Sphenomorphus indicus and Calotes versicolor). This newly characterized mitogenome provides a foundational resource for conservation genomics and phylogenetic studies of gekkonid lizards.

Global climate change has become a primary driving factor behind the biodiversity crisis in amphibians, making it crucial to understand how climate change affects species and their potential responses. The plateau brown frog (Rana kukunoris) is often regarded as an ideal ecological indicator species, yet research on its environmental adaptation mechanisms based on transcriptomic and microbiomic studies remains limited. Therefore, this study investigates the adaptation strategies of the plateau brown frog to environmental changes, providing extensive transcriptomic and the first comprehensive metagenomic dataset from two distinctly different environmental regions (eastern and western slopes of the Helan Mountains). We gathered transcriptomic data from three tissues (blood, liver, and muscle), resulting in 294,962 unigenes and 570,192 transcripts. Metagenomic sequencing identified major bacterial groups, including Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Spirochetes, and Actinobacteria. In summary, the results of this study can be used to further explore the associations among microbiota, host, and environment, which are crucial for comprehending the mechanisms of environmental adaptation in this species and contributing to the conservation of amphibian biodiversity.

In ex situ conservation, gut bacteria and fungi play a crucial role in maintaining the intestinal microecological balance of the gut, and disruptions in this system may negatively impact host health. The South China tiger (Panthera tigris amoyensis) is a critically endangered tiger subspecies currently surviving under human-managed care and captive breeding programs, with only a small number of individuals remaining. Disruption in the gut microbiota, particularly the proliferation of pathogenic bacteria, can be fatal for cubs. This study analyzed the composition and seasonal changes of the gut bacterial and fungal communities of South China tigers in captive and semi-released environments during the winter of 2023 and the summer of 2024, using 16S rRNA and ITS high-throughput sequencing. The results showed that the dominant gut bacteria were Bacillota, Actinomycetota, Fusobacteriota, Pseudomonadota, and Bacteroidota. The abundance of Bacillota decreased in summer and was slightly lower in captive tigers than in semi-released tigers. Fungal communities were dominated by Ascomycota, with a negative correlation observed between Ascomycota and Basidiomycota. The abundance of Ascomycetes was lower in summer but significantly higher in semi-released tigers than in captive ones. Diversity analysis revealed no significant effects of the season or the environment on bacterial α-diversity, and fungal α-diversity was also not significantly affected by seasonal variation. However, microbial diversity increased under semi-free-range conditions, with fungal richness significantly higher than in captive environments (p < 0.01). Principal coordinate analysis (PCoA) based on Bray–Curtis distances revealed significant differences in the community structures of both bacterial (Adonis, R² = 0.2364, p = 0.001) and fungal (Adonis, R² = 0.1542, p = 0.001) communities across different seasons and environments. These findings provide valuable insights into the health management strategies and ecological adaptation of South China tigers.

The construction of gut microbial communities in wildlife is influenced by both environmental factors and host genetic background. However, the mechanisms through which these factors interact to shape microbial communities remain poorly understood. In this study, we systematically sampled fecal specimens from male and female wild blue sheep across different seasons in Helan Mountain Nature Reserve and analyzed them using 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The objective was to investigate seasonal changes and interactions between sex and season on the gut microbial communities of blue sheep. Our results revealed that Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes were the dominant phyla across all groups, and the ten most abundant genera remain stable across both sexes and seasons. Alpha diversity (Chao1, two-way ANOVA, p = 0.001) and Beta diversity (PCoA, Anosim, R = 0.5410, p = 0.001) analyses further confirmed that seasonal and sex-specific interactions significantly shape the microbial community structure. Notably, the gut microbiomes of male and female blue sheep exhibited distinct response patterns to seasonal changes. LEfSe analysis (LDA > 3) identified 20 microbial taxa with significant seasonal differences, some of which showed sex-specific seasonal variation. These findings highlight the critical role of host sex in modulating the adaptation of gut microbial communities to seasonal environmental stresses. This study provides new insights into the ecological and evolutionary mechanisms of wildlife gut microbiomes and offers a scientific basis for sex-based wildlife conservation strategies.

Climate change, human activities, and habitat fragmentation—or even loss—pose ongoing threats to the survival of wildlife. Understanding the dietary habits of endangered species is a critical component of their conservation. In this study, we investigated the diet of water deer (Hydropotes inermis) by integrating traditional fecal microhistological analysis with a deep learning algorithm. Fecal samples were collected from water deer in northeastern China, with microscopic slides prepared for both the warm season (203 samples) and cold season (451 samples). A deep learning model was trained and tested using labeled images of 130 known plant species, achieving an accuracy of 99.83%. The results revealed that water deer consume 110 plant species from 86 genera and 40 families annually. The dietary patterns observed in this study align closely with those reported in other regions, reflecting species-specific foraging characteristics and further validating the reliability of deep learning algorithms in ecological research. Notably, significant seasonal variations were identified, highlighting the adaptability of water deer to changing environmental conditions. By examining the feeding ecology and seasonal dietary shifts of water deer in northeastern China, this study provides valuable insights for the development of targeted conservation strategies to support their populations in this region and beyond.

There is a need to reduce human–wildlife conflicts in the area around Liupanshan Nature Reserve in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, China. This study investigated the financial losses caused by wild boar and their causes. A questionnaire investigation (n = 135) and a field test were conducted, which included 108 sample lines and 97 infrared cameras. A principal component analysis and generalised linear model was used to analyse the importance of the effect of the factors on wild boar damage. Based on an estimate of 17,049 wild boars in the study area, we found that in the agricultural land owned by the residents, the boar density of each county and distance from the village to the nature reserve were the most significant factors that affected crop damage. Then, financial losses in spring, summer, and autumn had a moderate effect on financial loss, and the crop type had the lowest effect. We recommend reducing the wild boar population by increasing leisure hunting and the number of leopards. Additionally, a focus on farmland protection is a practical way to prevent wild boar invasions. Meanwhile, it is also necessary to conduct long-term monitoring of wild boar population status and manage the relationship between the government, research teams, and local people to more efficiently and comprehensively reduce conflicts between humans and wild boars.