Fig. 6

Beta diversity plots showing the differences in the fecal (A), vaginal (B) and colostral (C) microbiota structures between the clusters identified in the 36 dams one day after parturition via Dirichlet Multinomial Mixtures (DMM) clustering analysis. The MDS plot shows the dissimilarities between clusters, which were calculated via Bray–Curtis distances. Each point represents an individual dam sample for one specific microbiota, positioned on the plot on the basis of the similarity of its microbiota communities with other samples. Ellipses are based on 95% confidence intervals and standard errors. The similarity of bacterial communities is evaluated on the basis of taxon similarity and abundance. (p < 0.001)