Effects of age, seasonality, and reproductive status on the gut microbiome of Southern White Rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum simum) at the North Carolina zoo.

Background: Managed southern white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum simum) serve as assurance populations for wild conspecifics threatened by poaching and other anthropocentric effects, though many managed populations experience subfertility and reproductive failure. Gut microbiome and host health are inextricably linked, and reproductive outcomes in managed southern white rhinoceros may be mediated in part by their diet and gut microbial diversity. Thus, understanding microbial dynamics within managed populations may help improve conservation efforts.

Analysis of Blood Biochemistry of Free Ranging and Human-Managed Southern White Rhinoceros () Using the i-STAT Alinity v®.

Handheld point-of-care blood analyzers deliver rapid results for biochemical and hematologic parameters, making them very useful in veterinary clinics and in fieldwork applications. This study compared the biochemical and hematologic parameters generated by the novel point-of-care analyzer i-STAT® Alinity V CHEM8+ cartridge between human-managed and free ranging populations of southern white rhinoceros (). In addition, a novel reference interval for ionized calcium (iCa), a parameter of diagnostic and prognostic importance, was established for southern white rhinoceros.