Dataset Information

The Low-Diversity Fecal Microbiota of the Critically Endangered Kakapo Is Robust to Anthropogenic Dietary and Geographic Influences.

ABSTRACT: The critically endangered k?k?p?, an herbivorous parrot endemic to New Zealand, is subject to intensive management to increase its population size. Key aspects of the management program include supplementary feeding and translocation of k?k?p? between different predator-free islands to optimize the genetic composition of the breeding populations. While these practices have helped boost the k?k?p? population, their impact on the k?k?p? fecal microbiota is uncertain. Previous studies have found that the k?k?p? possesses a low-diversity fecal microbiota, typically dominated by Escherichia/Shigella spp. However, the question of whether the low diversity of the k?k?p? fecal microbiota is an inadvertent consequence of human interventions has yet to be investigated. To that end, we used high-throughput Illumina sequencing of 16S rRNA gene amplicons obtained from fecal material of 63 k?k?p? representing different diets, islands, and ages. Remarkably, neither supplementary feeding nor geographic location were associated with significant differences in the overall fecal microbial community structures of adult k?k?p?, suggesting that the k?k?p?'s low-diversity fecal microbiota is both inherent to this species and robust to these external influences.

SUBMITTER: Perry EK

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5655120 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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The Low-Diversity Fecal Microbiota of the Critically Endangered Kākāpō Is Robust to Anthropogenic Dietary and Geographic Influences.

Perry Elena K EK Digby Andrew A Taylor Michael W MW

Frontiers in microbiology 20171020

The critically endangered kākāpō, an herbivorous parrot endemic to New Zealand, is subject to intensive management to increase its population size. Key aspects of the management program include supplementary feeding and translocation of kākāpō between different predator-free islands to optimize the genetic composition of the breeding populations. While these practices have helped boost the kākāpō population, their impact on the kākāpō fecal microbiota is uncertain. Previous studies have found th ...[more]

PMID: 29104565

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Project description:BackgroundWildlife conservation often focuses on establishing protected areas. However, these conservation zones are frequently established without adequate knowledge of the movement patterns of the species they are designed to protect. Understanding movement and foraging patterns of species in dynamic and diverse habitats can allow managers to develop more effective conservation plans. Threatened lemurs in Madagascar are an example where management plans and protected areas are typically created to encompass large, extant forests rather than consider the overall resource needs of the target species.MethodsTo gain an understanding of golden-crowned sifaka (Propithecus tattersalli) movement patterns, including space use and habitat selection across their range of inhabited forest types, we combined behavior data with Dynamic Brownian Bridge Movement Models and Resource Selection Functions. We also examined the influence of abiotic, biotic, and anthropogenic factors on home range size, movement rates, and foraging patterns.ResultsWe found that home range size and movement rates differed between seasons, with increased core area size and movement in the rainy season. Forest type also played a role in foraging behavior with sifaka groups in the humid forest avoiding roads in both seasons, groups in the dry deciduous forest avoiding road networks in the rainy season, and groups in the moderate evergreen forest displaying no selection or avoidance of road networks while foraging.ConclusionOur study illustrates the importance of studying primate groups across seasons and forest types, as developing conservation plans from a single snapshot can give an inaccurate assessment of their natural behavior and resources needs of the species. More specifically, by understanding how forest type influences golden-crowned sifaka movement and foraging behavior, conservation management plans can be made to the individual forest types inhabited (dry deciduous, moderate evergreen, humid, littoral, etc.), rather than the region as a whole.

Dataset Information

The Low-Diversity Fecal Microbiota of the Critically Endangered Kakapo Is Robust to Anthropogenic Dietary and Geographic Influences.

Publications

The Low-Diversity Fecal Microbiota of the Critically Endangered Kākāpō Is Robust to Anthropogenic Dietary and Geographic Influences.

Similar Datasets

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