Recent research in laboratory animals has illuminated how the vertebrate gut microbiome can have diverse and powerful effects on the brain and behaviour. However, the ecological relevance of this microbiome–gut–brain (MGB) axis outside the laboratory remains unexplored. Here we argue that understanding behavioural and cognitive effects of the gut microbiome in natural populations is an important goal for behavioural ecology that may shed light on the mechanisms and evolution of behavioural plasticity. We outline a toolkit of approaches that could be applied in this endeavour and argue that beyond collecting observational data on the microbiome and behaviour from free-living animals, the incorporation of manipulative approaches tailored to such systems will be a key next step to progress understanding in this area.

最近对实验动物的研究阐明了脊椎动物肠道微生物组如何对大脑和行为产生多样而强大的影响。然而，实验室外的微生物-肠-脑（MGB）轴在生态上的相关性尚待探索。在这里，我们认为了解肠道微生物组在自然种群中的行为和认知作用是行为生态学的一个重要目标，可以阐明行为可塑性的机制和进化。我们概述了可用于此工作的方法工具包，并指出，除了收集有关自由活动动物的微生物组和行为的观察数据以外，结合针对此类系统量身定制的操纵方法将是进一步了解动物的关键步骤。这片区域。