Description
Gut bacteria modulate digestion, immune function, and behaviour in hosts. Some host-related traits also influence their gut bacterial communities (gut microbiome, GM). Diet can drive interspecific and intraspecific GM variation, including seasonal variation. Furthermore, seasonal GM variation can relate to intrinsic host changes, e.g., seasonal weather adaptations, including those associated with endogenously regulated annual cycle stages like reproduction. We investigated the impact of intrinsic host variation on seasonal GM variation by repeatedly sampling pigeons (Columbia livia) in two summers and two winters. Same-sex groups of pigeons were housed in outdoor aviaries. Offered food composition was constant; temperature and day length varied naturally. Between-season differences in GM richness and phylogenetic diversity depended on sex. Richness was higher in winter in females but not in males;phylogenetic diversity was lower in winter in males but not in females. Bray-Curtis distances and the two most abundant phyla also varied by season and sex. Firmicutes was more abundant in winter; Actinobacteria was less abundant in winter. Both taxa had higher relative abundances in males. Intrinsic host variation thus shapes seasonal GM variation in pigeons. As opportunistic breeders, pigeons maintain relatively stable year-round reproductive condition; hence, adaptations to seasonal weather variation likely shaped their GM variation.| Periode | 11-feb.-2020 |
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| Evenementstitel | Netherlands Annual Ecology Meeting 2020 |
| Evenementstype | Conference |
| Conferentienummer | 13 |
| Organisator | Netherlands Ecological Research Network (NERN) |
| Locatie | Lunteren, NetherlandsToon op kaart |
| Mate van erkenning | International |