Gut Microbiome, Diet, and Conservation of Endangered Langurs in Sri Lanka

Here we explore the relationship between the gut microbiome, host dietary niche, and potential resilience to habitat alteration using two closely-related, sympatric non-human primate species: the tufted gray langur (Semnopithecus priam) and the purple-faced langur (Semnopithecus vetulus). Despite a dearth of data describing these species, the gray langur is suspected to be a habitat generalist less perturbed by anthropogenic disturbance, while the purple-faced langur is suspected to be a specialist more sensitive to disturbance. To test these characterizations, we assessed the gut microbiome using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing of fecal samples collected from Kaludiyapokuna Forest Reserve, Sri Lanka (gray langur n=50 samples, purple-faced langur n=7 samples).