Changes in gut microbiota of migratory passerines during stopover after crossing an ecological barrier

Lewis, William B.; Moore, Frank R.; Wang, Shiao Y.

doi:10.1642/auk-16-120.1

Cited by 52 publications

(68 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…Migratory birds often switch diets, and thus may ingest a wide variety of microorganisms associated with their different food sources. Gut microbiota of songbirds became more similar within and among species during stopover, indicating an important role of local diet and/or environment as potential drivers of change in gut microbiota (Lewis et al 2017).…”

Section: Behavior: Migration and Social Interactionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The avian gut microbiota: community, physiology and function in wild birds

Grond

Sandercock

Jumpponen

et al. 2018

Journal of Avian Biology

264

276

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Gastrointestinal microbiota play a vital role in maintaining organismal health, through facilitating nutrient uptake, detoxification and interactions with the immune system. The gastrointestinal microbiota of birds has been poorly studied, especially in wild species under natural conditions. Studies of avian gut microbiota are outnumbered ten to one by studies of mammals, and are dominated by research on domestic poultry. Unlike domestic poultry, wild birds vary widely in environmental preferences, physiology, and life‐history traits, such as migratory behavior and mating systems. Species characteristics result in a vast diversity in gut microbiota and its composition and function. Avian life‐history characteristics pose selection pressures on the gut microbiota, and ultimately affect host health. Here, we review current knowledge of the gut microbiota of wild birds, including: partitioning of digestive function and microbiota among different gastrointestinal compartments, microbial diversity and function in the context of host diet, energetics and behavior, and the intrinsic and extrinsic factors impacting gut microbiota in free‐living birds. The shared core microbiota of wild bird species is dominated by members of four major phyla: Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes and Actinobacteria. However, microbial communities varies inter‐ and intra‐specifically, and among gastrointestinal tract sections. To conclude, we identify three key research areas that warrant further investigation: 1) expanding the range of avian host taxa investigated, 2) identifying the function of avian gut microbiota in physiology and immunology, and 3) transitioning from observational studies to experimental manipulations to identify key determinants of wild bird gut microbiota composition.

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Section: Behavior: Migration and Social Interactionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The avian gut microbiota: community, physiology and function in wild birds

Grond

Sandercock

Jumpponen

et al. 2018

Journal of Avian Biology

264

276

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Dietary manipulation has also led to impaired or enhanced cognition in mice models [7,9,21], and in one case has been shown to be independent of nutritional value [7]. Diet varies between and within species along spatial and temporal scales, which can cause shifts in gut microbiota as demonstrated in animals that engage in coprophagy [61], migratory birds during stopovers [84], wild mice across seasons [85] and animals brought into captivity [73], and therefore could impact cognition as a result. Microbiome shifts may also arise in the opposite causal direction when cognition directly affects an individual's dietary preferences or capacity to gain access to food, resulting in feedback loops between cognition and the microbiome via diet (figure 2).…”

Section: (C) Diet and Foraging Behaviourmentioning

confidence: 99%

The gut microbiome as a driver of individual variation in cognition and functional behaviour

Davidson

Cooke

Johnson

et al. 2018

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

119

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Research into proximate and ultimate mechanisms of individual cognitive variation in animal populations is a rapidly growing field that incorporates physiological, behavioural and evolutionary investigations. Recent studies in humans and laboratory animals have shown that the enteric microbial community plays a central role in brain function and development. The 'gut-brain axis' represents a multi-directional signalling system that encompasses neurological, immunological and hormonal pathways. In particular it is tightly linked with the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA), a system that regulates stress hormone release and influences brain development and function. Experimental examination of the microbiome through manipulation of diet, infection, stress and exercise, suggests direct effects on cognition, including learning and memory. However, our understanding of these processes in natural populations is extremely limited. Here, we outline how recent advances in predominantly laboratory-based microbiome research can be applied to understanding individual differences in cognition. Experimental manipulation of the microbiome across natal and adult environments will help to unravel the interplay between cognitive variation and the gut microbial community. Focus on individual variation in the gut microbiome and cognition in natural populations will reveal new insight into the environmental and evolutionary constraints that drive individual cognitive variation.This article is part of the theme issue 'Causes and consequences of individual differences in cognitive abilities'.

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“…Animal migration occurs seasonally-mainly due to food availability, or for breeding purposes-and has been observed in various groups including birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, insects, and fish 7 . Accordingly, migration is considered an ideal event for investigating not only the long-term influence of environmental conditions and food sources in an organism's original habitat, but also the temporal impacts of external factors and available food on the intestinal microbial communities of wild animals 8,9 . The migration process requires migratory animals to face physiological challenges, during which time the host body might need to store huge amounts of energy to remain active for an extended period of time 10 .…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The interaction between migration and the structure of gut microbial compositions in migratory birds was investigated previously. Lewis et al 8 documented that three different migratory bird species that shared the same stopover field had similar gut microbial communities, which suggests that temporal environmental and food conditions have a strong impact on the structure of gut microbiota in some migratory bird species during stopovers. However, a recent study provided evidence that animal gut microbial communities offer resistance during their hosts' migration; the study came to this conclusion after finding a high similarity between the gut microbiota of stint flocks migrating thousands of kilometres and resident birds that had inhabited the same field for a full year 9 .…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Structure and membership of gut microbial communities in multiple fish cryptic species under potential migratory effects

Wang

2020

Sci Rep

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The animal gut microbiota evolves quickly towards a complex community and plays crucial roles in its host's health and development. factors such as host genetics and environmental changes are regarded as important for controlling the dynamics of animal gut microbiota. Migratory animals are an important group for studying how these factors influence gut microbiota because they experience strong environmental perturbations during migration. The commercially important grey mullet, Mugil cephalus, is a cosmopolitan species complex that display reproductive migration behaviour. There are three cryptic species of M. cephalus fish distributed across the Northwest Pacific, and their spawning sites overlap in the Taiwan Strait. This extraordinary natural occurrence makes the grey mullet an ideal model organism for exploring the nature of wild animal-gut microbiota relationships and interactions. This study investigates the diversity and structure of the gut microbial community in three cryptic M. cephalus species using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing. Gut microbial compositions from adult and juvenile fish samples were analysed. Our results indicate that gut microbial communities within the grey mullet share a core microbiome dominated by Proteobacteria, Firmicutes and Actinobacteria. However, the structures of gut microbial communities were more distinct between adult mullet groups than they were between juvenile ones. Intriguingly, we found that adult fish that migrate to different geographical tracts harbour gut microbiota similar to historical records of seawater microflora, along their respective migration routes. This observation provides new insights into the interaction between aquatic animal gut microbial communities and the environments along their hosts' migratory routes, and thus warrants future study.

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Changes in gut microbiota of migratory passerines during stopover after crossing an ecological barrier

Cited by 52 publications

References 46 publications

The avian gut microbiota: community, physiology and function in wild birds

The avian gut microbiota: community, physiology and function in wild birds

The gut microbiome as a driver of individual variation in cognition and functional behaviour

Structure and membership of gut microbial communities in multiple fish cryptic species under potential migratory effects

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