Human footprints in the gut: how anthropogenic environments reshape the microbiome of chacma baboons

Abstract

Anthropogenic pressures are increasingly reshaping wildlife habitats worldwide. These transformations reduce natural areas, but also create new ecological niches, food resources, and environmental stressors, with potential consequences for wildlife behavior, physiology, and morphology. These changes may affect the gut microbiome, a critical component of host health, yet such effects are often inconsistent across species, particularly in wild non-human primates, and remain poorly understood. Here, we investigated how the gut microbiome of chacma baboons (Papio ursinus ursinus), an ecologically flexible generalist, responds to an anthropization gradient. We analyzed 512 fecal samples collected from 33 wild troops across a broad range of anthropogenic environments in the Western Cape, South Africa. Using a multi-metric approach including the Human Footprint Index, land-use variables and dietary proxies derived from stable isotopes, we assessed gut microbial diversity and composition based on 16S rRNA gene (V4) sequencing. Human-altered environments characterized by high Human Footprint and built-up areas were associated with reduced microbial diversity, and compositional and functional shifts, including decline in fiber-degrading taxa and increase in bacteria associated with simple carbohydrate and dairy metabolism. In contrast, highly cultivated areas showed no diversity difference and distinct microbial assemblages, while dietary variation had weaker effects, primarily altering rare taxa. Our results demonstrate that different components of anthropogenic pressure exert contrasting effects on the baboon gut microbiome, reflecting multiple ecological pathways extending beyond diet alone. Microbiome shifts may have implications for host health, potentially increasing susceptibility to pathogens or inflammatory diseases, with consequences for wildlife populations.