Authors
Wouter FD van Dongen, Joël White, Hanja B Brandl, Yoshan Moodley, Thomas Merkling, Sarah Leclaire, Pierrick Blanchard, Étienne Danchin, Scott A Hatch, Richard H Wagner
Publication date
2013/12
Journal
BMC ecology
Volume
13
Pages
1-12
Publisher
BioMed Central
Description
Background
Gastrointestinal bacteria play a central role in the health of animals. The bacteria that individuals acquire as they age may therefore have profound consequences for their future fitness. However, changes in microbial community structure with host age remain poorly understood. We characterised the cloacal bacteria assemblages of chicks and adults in a natural population of black-legged kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla), using molecular methods.
Results
We show that the kittiwake cloaca hosts a diverse assemblage of bacteria. A greater number of total bacterial OTUs (operational taxonomic units) were identified in chicks than adults, and chicks appeared to host a greater number of OTUs that were only isolated from single individuals. In contrast, the number of bacteria identified per individual was higher in adults than chicks, while older chicks …
Scholar articles
WFD van Dongen, J White, HB Brandl, Y Moodley… - BMC ecology, 2013