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Jiang J, Hu D, Pei E. Integrated omics analysis reveals a correlation between gut microbiota and egg production in captive African penguins (Spheniscus demersus). Anim Reprod Sci 2024; 263:107448. [PMID: 38428346 DOI: 10.1016/j.anireprosci.2024.107448] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2023] [Revised: 01/24/2024] [Accepted: 02/21/2024] [Indexed: 03/03/2024]
Abstract
The egg production of captive African penguins differs considerably between individuals. An understanding of the physiological differences in African penguins with relatively greater and lesser egg production is meaningful for the captive breeding program of this endangered species. The objective of this study was to investigate differential microbial composition and metabolites in captive African penguins with different egg production. Fecal samples were collected from captive female African penguins during the breeding season. The results of 16 S rRNA gene sequencing showed that African penguins with different egg production had similar microbial diversities, whereas a significant difference was observed between their microbial community structure. African penguins with relatively greater egg production exhibited a higher relative abundance of Alphaproteobacteria, Rhizobiales, Bradyrhizobiaceae, Bradyrhizobium and Bosea. Meanwhile, penguins with relatively lesser egg production had an increased proportion of Klebsiella and Plesiomonas. We further identified a total of 1858 metabolites in female African penguins by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis. Among these metabolites, 13 kinds of metabolites were found to be significantly differential between African penguins with different egg production. In addition, the correlation analysis revealed that the egg production had significant correlations with most of the differential microbial bacteria and metabolites. Our findings might aid in understanding the potential mechanism underlying the phenomenon of abnormal egg production in captive African penguins, and provide novel insights into the relationship between gut microbiota and reproduction in penguins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jingle Jiang
- Shanghai Endangered Species Conservation and Research Centre, Shanghai Zoo, Shanghai 200335, China
| | - Di Hu
- Shanghai Endangered Species Conservation and Research Centre, Shanghai Zoo, Shanghai 200335, China
| | - Enle Pei
- Shanghai Endangered Species Conservation and Research Centre, Shanghai Zoo, Shanghai 200335, China.
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Luna-Ortiz A, Marín-Capuz G, Abella E, Crespo-Picazo JL, Escribano F, Félix G, Giralt S, Tomás J, Pegueroles C, Pascual M, Carreras C. New colonisers drive the increase of the emerging loggerhead turtle nesting in Western Mediterranean. Sci Rep 2024; 14:1506. [PMID: 38233518 PMCID: PMC10794258 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-51664-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2023] [Accepted: 01/06/2024] [Indexed: 01/19/2024] Open
Abstract
The loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) is sensitive to climate change and is responding by colonising the Western Mediterranean. To understand the rapid nesting increase in recent years in Spain, we sampled 45 hatchlings from 8 nests between 2016 and 2019. We sequenced a mtDNA D-loop region, genotyped 2291 SNPs using 2bRAD and collected data on clutch size, hatching success, and incubation duration. We confirmed that the colonisation has a Mediterranean and Atlantic mixed origin and we detected that these nests were laid by different females, except for two nests within the same season. Our results suggest that the recent increase in nesting is due to an increase in the number of colonising individuals rather than females born in the same area returning to breed. We hypothesize that this increase in the number of colonisers results from successful conservation efforts, feminisation of the populations of origin and earlier sexual maturation. However, the percentage of offspring females produced in Spain suggests that future returning individuals will aid to the settlement of the new population. These results allow defining the current status of this colonisation although future efforts are needed to detect remigrants to confirm the establishment of a resident population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Astrid Luna-Ortiz
- Department of Genetics, Microbiology and Statistics and IrBio, University of Barcelona, Avinguda Diagonal 643, 08028, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Gisela Marín-Capuz
- Department of Genetics, Microbiology and Statistics and IrBio, University of Barcelona, Avinguda Diagonal 643, 08028, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Elena Abella
- BETA Technological Center, University of Vic - Central University of Catalonia, Carretera Roda 70, 08500, Vic, Spain
| | - José Luis Crespo-Picazo
- Fundació Oceanogràfic de la Comunitat Valenciana, Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències, 46013, Valencia, Spain
| | - Fernando Escribano
- Centro de Recuperación de Fauna Silvestre "El Valle", Ctra. Subida a El Valle, 62, 30150, La Alberca de las Torres, Murcia, Spain
| | - Guillem Félix
- Consorci per a la Recuperació de la Fauna de les Illes Balears (COFIB), Servei de Protecció d'Espècies. Conselleria Agricultura, Pesca i Medi Natural. Govern de les Illes Balears, Carretera Palma- Sineu, Km 15,400, 07142, Santa Eugènia, Balearic Islands, Spain
| | - Silvia Giralt
- Fundación para la Conservación y la Recuperación de Animales Marinos (CRAM), 08820, El Prat de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Jesús Tomás
- Instituto Cavanilles de Biodiversidad y Biología Evolutiva, University of Valencia, Apdo, 22085, 46071, Valencia, Spain
| | - Cinta Pegueroles
- Department of Genetics, Microbiology and Statistics and IrBio, University of Barcelona, Avinguda Diagonal 643, 08028, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Marta Pascual
- Department of Genetics, Microbiology and Statistics and IrBio, University of Barcelona, Avinguda Diagonal 643, 08028, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Carlos Carreras
- Department of Genetics, Microbiology and Statistics and IrBio, University of Barcelona, Avinguda Diagonal 643, 08028, Barcelona, Spain.
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Christiaanse JC, Antolínez JAA, Luijendijk AP, Athanasiou P, Duarte CM, Aarninkhof S. Distribution of global sea turtle nesting explained from regional-scale coastal characteristics. Sci Rep 2024; 14:752. [PMID: 38191897 PMCID: PMC10774326 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-50239-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2023] [Accepted: 12/17/2023] [Indexed: 01/10/2024] Open
Abstract
Climate change and human activity threaten sea turtle nesting beaches through increased flooding and erosion. Understanding the environmental characteristics that enable nesting can aid to preserve and expand these habitats. While numerous local studies exist, a comprehensive global analysis of environmental influences on the distribution of sea turtle nesting habitats remains largely unexplored. Here, we relate the distribution of global sea turtle nesting to 22 coastal indicators, spanning hydrodynamic, atmospheric, geophysical, habitat, and human processes. Using state-of-the-art global datasets and a novel 50-km-resolution hexagonal coastline grid (Coastgons), we employ machine learning to identify spatially homogeneous patterns in the indicators and correlate these to the occurrence of nesting grounds. Our findings suggest sea surface temperature, tidal range, extreme surges, and proximity to coral and seagrass habitats significantly influence global nesting distribution. Low tidal ranges and low extreme surges appear to be particularly favorable for individual species, likely due to reduced nest flooding. Other indicators, previously reported as influential (e.g., precipitation and wind speed), were not as important in our global-scale analysis. Finally, we identify new, potentially suitable nesting regions for each species. On average, [Formula: see text] of global coastal regions between [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] latitude could be suitable for nesting, while only [Formula: see text] is currently used by turtles, showing that the realized niche is significantly smaller than the fundamental niche, and that there is potential for sea turtles to expand their nesting habitat. Our results help identify suitable nesting conditions, quantify potential hazards to global nesting habitats, and lay a foundation for nature-based solutions to preserve and potentially expand these habitats.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jakob C Christiaanse
- Department of Hydraulic Engineering, Delft University of Technology, Delft, Netherlands.
| | - José A A Antolínez
- Department of Hydraulic Engineering, Delft University of Technology, Delft, Netherlands
| | - Arjen P Luijendijk
- Department of Hydraulic Engineering, Delft University of Technology, Delft, Netherlands
- Deltares , Delft, Netherlands
| | | | - Carlos M Duarte
- Biological Sciences and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi Arabia
| | - Stefan Aarninkhof
- Department of Hydraulic Engineering, Delft University of Technology, Delft, Netherlands
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Florkowski MR, Hamer SA, Yorzinski JL. Brief exposure to captivity in a songbird is associated with reduced diversity and altered composition of the gut microbiome. FEMS Microbiol Ecol 2023; 99:fiad096. [PMID: 37586886 DOI: 10.1093/femsec/fiad096] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2022] [Revised: 06/07/2023] [Accepted: 08/14/2023] [Indexed: 08/18/2023] Open
Abstract
The gut microbiome is important for host fitness and is influenced by many factors including the host's environment. Captive environments could potentially influence the richness and composition of the microbiome and understanding these effects could be useful information for the care and study of millions of animals in captivity. While previous studies have found that the microbiome often changes due to captivity, they have not examined how quickly these changes can occur. We predicted that the richness of the gut microbiome of wild-caught birds would decrease with brief exposure to captivity and that their microbiome communities would become more homogeneous. To test these predictions, we captured wild house sparrows (Passer domesticus) and collected fecal samples to measure their gut microbiomes immediately after capture ("wild sample") and again 5-10 days after capture ("captive sample"). There were significant differences in beta diversity between the wild and captive samples, and captive microbiome communities were more homogenous but only when using nonphylogenetic measures. Alpha diversity of the birds' microbiomes also decreased in captivity. The functional profiles of the microbiome changed, possibly reflecting differences in stress or the birds' diets before and during captivity. Overall, we found significant changes in the richness and composition of the microbiome after only a short exposure to captivity. These findings highlight the necessity of considering microbiome changes in captive animals for research and conservation purposes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melanie R Florkowski
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Program, Texas A&M University, 534 John Kimbrough Blvd, College Station, TX 77845, United States
| | - Sarah A Hamer
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Program, Texas A&M University, 534 John Kimbrough Blvd, College Station, TX 77845, United States
- Schubot Center for Avian Health, Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University, 701 Farm to Market Service Road, College Station, TX 77840, United States
| | - Jessica L Yorzinski
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Program, Texas A&M University, 534 John Kimbrough Blvd, College Station, TX 77845, United States
- Department of Ecology and Conservation Biology, Texas A&M University, 534 John Kimbrough Blvd, College Station, TX 77845, United States
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