A Risky Business? Habitat and Social Behavior Impact Skin and Gut Microbiomes in Caribbean Cleaning Gobies

Abstract

The broadstripe cleaning goby Elacatinus prochilos has two alternative ecotypes: sponge-dwellers, which live in large groups and feed mainly upon nematode parasites; and coral-dwellers, that live in small groups or in solitude and behave as cleaners. Recent studies focusing on the skin and gut microbiomes of tropical fish showed that microbial communities are influenced mainly by diet and host species. Here, we compare the skin and gut microbiomes of the Caribbean broadstripe cleaning goby E. prochilos alternative ecotypes (cleaners and non-cleaners) from Barbados and predict that different habitat use and behavior (cleaning vs. non-cleaning) will translate in different bacterial profiles between the two ecotypes. We found significant differences in both alpha- and beta-diversity of skin and gut microbiomes belonging to different ecotypes. Importantly, the skin microbiome of obligate cleaners showed greater intra-sample diversity and harbored a significantly higher prevalence of potential fish pathogens. Likewise, potential pathogens were also more prevalent in the gut of obligate cleaners. We suggest that habitat use, diet, but also direct contact with potential diseased clientele during cleaning, could be the cause for these patterns.

Fishing for the Bacteriome of Tropical Tuna

“…3). These phyla typically dominate within the skin microbiome of fish species [14,29,[58][59][60]. Geographic and seasonal variations in the composition of the skin microflora have been recently reported in marine mammals, corals and fishes [10,12,61], suggesting that environmental conditions (biotic and abiotic) are strong determinants of the skin microbiome.…”

Spatial Structure of Marine Host-Associated Microbiomes: Effect of Taxonomy, Species Traits, and Study Design

“…The absence of spatial structure in the Atlantic cod gut microbiome suggests colonization by a limited number of bacterial species (Riiser et al, 2019), and may reflect similar food sources across their distribution. The skin, on the other hand, is strongly influenced by both host and environmental factors (Larsen et al, 2013;Xavier et al, 2019). Both location and seasonal environmental changes significantly influence fish skin microbiomes (Larsen et al, 2013).…”

Fisheries Volume 45 Number 5 May 2020

“…NA -data was collected from databases. Xavier et al 2019 The gut and skin microbiome of the Broadstripe Cleaning Goby diff ers between alternative exotypes (sponge dwellers and coral dwellers). Signifi cant diff erences were found in both alpha and beta diversity, with potential pathogens being much more prevalent in the gut microbiome of obligate cleaners (e.g., coral dwellers).…”