Doi: https://doi.org/10.13157/arla.73.1.2026.ra2
Authors: Elin Videvall, Patricia Ruiz-Limón, Jesús Martínez-Padilla, Isabel Moreno-Indias, David Canal and Jaime Muriel
E-mail: jaime.muriel.redondo@gmail.com
Published: Volume 73.1, January 2026. Pages 23-42.
Language: English
Keywords: Bacteroidota, Firmicutes, gut bacteria, microbial ecology, microbiome, pied flycatcher and small-scale habitat
Summary:
The study used 16S rRNA gene sequencing to describe the faecal microbiome of a trans-Saharan migratory passerine species breeding in Central Spain, the European Pied Flycatcher Ficedula hypoleuca.
The authors investigated differences in microbial composition and diversity between the natural habitat of the species (oak forest) and a newly created habitat (pine forest) located only 1km apart. They sampled both adult males and females, as well as nestlings (13 days old). The results showed a difference in the composition of microbiomes of birds between the habitats, with birds from the oak forest showing a higher abundance of bacterial taxa, such as Actinobacteriota and Proteobacteria, and birds from the pine forest showing a higher abundance of Verrucomicrobiota. No differences in microbial composition according to sex or age, although nestlings and breeding females showed a higher abundance of certain bacteria were observed.
The study improves our understanding of the gut microbiome composition of insectivorous migratory passerines and shows that breeding habitat can be a key modulator of avian gut microbiome composition
Supplementary Material:
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