Background The gut microbiota of the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca), a global
symbol of conservation, are believed to be involved in the host's dietary switch to a fibrous …

Apex predators play pivotal roles in marine ecosystems, mediated principally through diet
and nutrition. Yet, compared with terrestrial animals, the nutritional ecology of marine …

Characteristics of the gut microbiome vary synchronously with changes in host diet.
However, the underlying effects of these fluctuations remain unclear. Here, we performed …

The order Carnivora includes over 300 species that vary many orders of magnitude in size
and inhabit all major biomes, from tropical rainforests to polar seas. The high diversity of …

Diet selection is a fundamental aspect of animal behavior with numerous ecological and
evolutionary implications. While the underlying mechanisms are complex, the availability of …

Bamboo rats (Rhizomys pruinosus) are among the few mammals that lives on a bamboo-
based diet which is mainly composed of lignocellulose. However, the mechanisms of …

Carnivora with naturally small home ranges readily adjust to the evolutionarily new
environment of captivity, but wider-ranging species seem prone to stress. Understanding …

Zoonotic pathogens, such as COVID-19, reside in animal hosts before jumping species to
infect humans. The Carnivora, like mink, carry many zoonoses, yet how diversity in host …

Small carnivores–here defined as members of the mammalian order Carnivora with a body
mass< 21.5 kg–occur worldwide, including in Oceania, following introductions. They are …

Heavy reliance on plants is rare in Carnivora and mostly limited to relatively small species in
subtropical settings. The feeding behaviors of extinct cave bears living during Pleistocene …