Global change-driven use of onshore habitat impacts polar bear faecal microbiota
ISME Journal
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Abstract
The gut microbiota plays a critical role in host health, yet remains poorly studied in wild species. Polar bears (Ursus maritimus), key indicators of Arctic ecosystem health and environmental change, are currently affected by rapid shifts in habitat that may alter gut homeostasis. Declining sea ice has led to a divide in the southern Beaufort Sea polar bear subpopulation such that an increasing proportion of individuals now inhabit onshore coastal regions during the open-water period (‘onshore bears’) while others continue to exhibit their typical behaviour of remaining on the ice (‘offshore bears’). We propose that bears that have altered their habitat selection in response to climate change will exhibit a distinct gut microbiota diversity and composition, which may ultimately have important consequences for their health. Here, we perform the first assessment of abundance and diversity in the faecal microbiota of wild polar bears using 16S rRNA Illumina technology. We find that bacterial diversity is significantly higher in onshore bears compared to offshore bears. The majority of unique bacterial taxa for onshore bears belonged to the phyla Proteobacteria (a proposed indicator of poor health in adult humans), whereas for offshore bears, Firmicutes (associated with adiposity) dominated. We conclude that climate-driven changes in polar bear land use are associated with distinct microbial communities. In doing so, we present the first case of global change mediated alterations in the gut microbiota of a free-roaming wild animal.
Suggested Citation
Watson, S., Hauffe, H., Bull, M., Atwood, T.C., McKinney, M., Pindo, M., Perkins, S., 2020, Global change-driven use of onshore habitat impacts polar bear faecal microbiota: ISME Journal, v. 13, p. 2916-2926, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41396-019-0480-2.
Study Area
| Publication type | Article |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
| Title | Global change-driven use of onshore habitat impacts polar bear faecal microbiota |
| Series title | ISME Journal |
| DOI | 10.1038/s41396-019-0480-2 |
| Volume | 13 |
| Publication Date | August 05, 2019 |
| Year Published | 2020 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Nature |
| Contributing office(s) | Alaska Science Center Biology MFEB |
| Description | 11 p. |
| First page | 2916 |
| Last page | 2926 |
| Country | United States |
| State | Alaska |
| Other Geospatial | Southern Beaufort Sea |