DOI: 10.5061/dryad.mgqnk999g
title: Data from: Variation in zoo diets, offerings of leafy browse, and body condition scores in Matschie’s tree kangaroos (Dendrolagus matschiei) and their effects on the composition of the gut microbiome

description: Recommended zoo diets for the arboreal folivore, the Matschie’s tree
 kangaroo (Dendrolagus matschiei; TKs), were recently found to be much
 lower in fiber and higher in starch than wild diet items for this species.
 In contrast to wild animals, zoo-housed TKs are ~30-40% higher in body
 weight, known to suffer from infections indicating immune dysfunction, and
 exhibit various reproductive issues. These problems may have ties to gut
 microbiome dysbiosis related to differences in diet between captive and
 wild individuals, but to date, the microbiome of TKs has not been
 explored. This study aimed to 1) quantify the macronutrient intake of
 diets from zoo-housed TKs and compare the intake of over-conditioned
 animals to those at ideal body condition, and 2) examine gut microbial
 communities for any differences associated with TK macronutrient intake,
 leafy browse offerings, or body condition. Diet information and associated
 fecal samples (n = 57) for microbial analysis were collected from 31
 individuals at 16 facilities accredited by the Association of Zoos and
 Aquariums (AZA). Diet intake results confirmed suspected extreme
 macronutrient differences between zoo diets and food items consumed by
 wild individuals, with some zoo animals consuming as many as three to four
 times more calories than is currently recommended; these animals also
 being those with the highest body weights and condition scores in the
 population. The high caloric diets consumed by over-conditioned animals
 were driven by elevated protein and starch intake. TKs offered high and
 intermediate amounts of leafy browse in their diets exhibited
 substantially different fecal microbial communities compared to animals
 offered low or no browse. Our results indicate that formulation of diets
 for zoo-housed TKs, similar to other folivores, should closely resemble
 the macronutrient and caloric values of wild counterparts to encourage
 ideal body condition and promote gastrointestinal health.
description: # Dryad dataset Dataset DOI:
 [10.5061/dryad.mgqnk999g](10.5061/dryad.mgqnk999g) ## Description of the
 data and file structure The following contains data used in the manuscript
 "Variation in zoo diets, offerings of leafy browse, and body
 condition scores in Matschie’s tree kangaroos (*Dendrolagus matschiei*)
 and their effects on the composition of the gut microbiome" ### Files
 and variables #### File:
 Koester_et_al_Diet_Browse_BCS_Alpha_Diversityv2.csv **Description:** This
 file contains relevant metadata, diet intake information, and alpha
 diversity indices for zoo-housed Matschie’s tree kangaroos (*Dendrolagus
 matschiei*). ##### Variables * id: sequence identification number of the
 fecal sample * Date Sample Collected: self-explanatory * Date Extracted:
 self-explanatory * Browse_Category: Differentiated into categories of
 none, low, intermediate, and high * BCS_category: scored as Ideal or
 Over-conditioned * DM_g_Consumed: dry matter consumed per day (g) * CP_g:
 crude protein consumed per day (g) * ADF_g: acid detergent fiber consumed
 per day (g) * NDF_g: neutral detergent fiber consumed per day (g) * TNC_g:
 total non-structural carbohydrates consumed per day (g) * Starch_g:
 starch consumed per day (g) * ESC_g: ethanol soluble sugar consumed per
 day (g) * CF_g: crude fat consumed per day (g) * CP_per: crude protein as
 % of dry matter consumed per day * ADF_per: acid detergent fiber as % of
 dry matter consumed per day * NDF_per: neutral detergent fiber as % of dry
 matter consumed per day * TNC_per: total non-structural carbohydrates as %
 of dry matter consumed per day * Starch_per: starch as % of dry matter
 consumed per day * ESC_per: ethanol soluble carbohydrates as % of dry
 matter consumed per day * CF_per: crude fat as % of dry matter consumed
 per day * pielou_evenness: evenness alpha diversity index *
 shannon_entropy: shannon alpha diversity index * observed_features: number
 of observed amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) * faith_pd: Faith's
 phylogenetic diversity index #### File:
 Koesteret_al_unweighted_unifrac_distance_matrix.txt **Description:** This
 file contains the unweighted unifrac distance matrix for the tree kangaroo
 fecal samples.   #### File:
 Koester_al_weighted_unifrac_distance_matrix.txt **Description:** This file
 contains the weighted unifrac distance matrix for the tree kangaroo fecal
 samples. #### File: Koester_et_al_beta_diversity_metadatav2.csv
 **Description:** This file contains the metadata, including sample ID,
 diet intake information, and browse category information used for the
 unweighted and weighted unifrac beta diversity analyses. ##### Variables *
 ID: sequence identification number of the fecal sample *
 Date_Sample_Collected: self-explanatory * SB_Number: Studbook
 identification number * Date_Extracted: self-explanatory *
 Browse_Category: Differentiated into categories of none, low,
 intermediate, and high * BCS_category: scored as Ideal or Over-conditioned
 * DM_g_Consumed: dry matter consumed per day (g) * CP_g: crude protein
 consumed per day (g) * ADF_g: acid detergent fiber consumed per day (g) *
 NDF_g: neutral detergent fiber consumed per day (g) * TNC_g: total
 non-structural carbohydrates consumed per day (g) * Starch_g:
 starch consumed per day (g) * ESC_g: ethanol soluble sugar consumed per
 day (g) * CF_g: crude fat consumed per day (g) * CP_per: crude protein as
 % of dry matter consumed per day * ADF_per: acid detergent fiber as % of
 dry matter consumed per day * NDF_per: neutral detergent fiber as % of dry
 matter consumed per day * TNC_per: total non-structural carbohydrates as %
 of dry matter consumed per day * Starch_per: starch as % of dry matter
 consumed per day * ESC_per: ethanol soluble carbohydrates as % of dry
 matter consumed per day * CF_per: crude fat as % of dry matter consumed
 per day #### File: Sequence_Files.zip **Description:** Zipped file
 contains the forward and reverse read fastq files. Files names
 (e.g., 1772-002-LCZ514a-TROO-23-US-ND_S2_L001_R1_001.fastq) correspond to
 the ID column of the metadata files (e.g.,
 1772-002-LCZ514a-TROO-23-US-ND_S2).