Fig. 4

Rumen bacterial composition and abundance of indicator taxa at weaning (T1), backgrounding (T2–T3), and finishing (T4–T5). a Principal coordinate analysis (PCoA, Bray–Curtis distances) showing bacterial compositional differences at weaning, BKG and finishing. ANOSIM and PERMANOVA test results, along with their statistics are displayed below each PCoA plot. b Cumulative abundance of indicator ASVs, distinguishing each BKG system, at weaning, BKG and finishing. The line plots show how the cumulative abundance of these indicator ASVs peaks during BKG (T2). The pies show the taxonomic affiliation, at the order level, of the indicator ASVs. Asterisks show significant differences in the abundance of indicator taxa between groups based on Kruskal–Wallis tests adjusted for multiple comparisons (**P < 0.001, ***P < 0.0001). Dry lot (DL); cover crop (CC) and perennial pasture (PP)