2.7 Statistical analysis for α‐diversity of gut bacteria according
to host information
All statistical analyses were conducted using the phyloseq and
microbiome packages for manipulation of data. Total observed number of
bacterial taxa, Chao1, Shannon’s diversity index and Faith’s PD in each
sample were used as metrics to measure the α‐diversity of gut bacteria
between samples. Chao1 characterizes the overall phylotype richness
within a host, Shannon’s diversity index takes into account richness and
abundance, and Faith’s PD is an indicator of genetic diversity within a
sample. Differences in the indices according to E-mink populations, sex
and birth location of the host were analyzed using Kruskal-Wallis rank
sum tests. Linear regression models were also conducted with the
different measures of the microsatellites and MHC analysis (MLH, F for
microsatellite data, MHC motif richness and divergence) as predictors,
and microbial richness indexes as response variable. Homogeneity of
variance assumptions were tested using Levene tests and normality of the
residuals with Shapiro-Wilk tests and visual representations.