Fig. 1. Characterization of the African buffalo gut microbiota.

a Genus-level composition profile representing average relative abundance values across all samples. b–d Gut microbial diversity, as measured by sub-operational taxonomic unit (sOTU) richness, was negatively associated with b fecal nitrogen content, a measure of intake diet quality, c age, and d body condition. Fitted lines constructed from a linear mixed model and shaded areas represent standard errors. Diversity values are Box–Cox-transformed and scaled.