Seasonal variation in the stomach microbiota of two sympatrically breeding Pygoscelis penguin species at Signy Island, South Orkney Islands.

ABSTRACT: The gut microbiomes of Antarctic penguins are important for the fitness of the host birds and their chicks. The compositions of microbial communities in Antarctic penguin guts are strongly associated with the birds' diet, physiological adaptation and phylogeny. Whilst seasonal changes in food resources, distribution and population parameters of Antarctic penguins have been well addressed, little research is available on the stability or variability of penguin stomach microbiomes over time. Here, we focused on two Pygoscelis penguin species breeding sympatrically in the maritime Antarctic and analysed their stomach contents to assess whether penguin gut microbiota differed over three austral summer breeding seasons. We used a high-throughput DNA sequencing approach to study bacterial

SUBMITTER: Yew WC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11541225 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature