Figure 2: Putative mechanisms of bacterial dispersal between Sable Island horses: (A) social grooming [pictured: social band stallion (left) and mare (right) engaged in reciprocal grooming], (B) coprophagy, the consumption of feces [pictured: a foal (foreground) consuming the faeces of its mother (background)], (C) interaction with the faeces of band members or faecal territory markers (stud pile) [pictured: band stallion scenting faeces from a social band mare], (D) aggregation of social bands at communal resources [pictured: horses standing in—and drinking from—an excavated freshwater well (background) immediately adjacent to a fecal stud pile (foreground)]. Photos ©Mason R. Stothart.