Migration Makes Microorganisms in Bird's Stomach Change and Evolve

The microorganisms or microbes found in the gut of a living body are analyzed in multiple examinations and were proven numerous times to affect physical and mental health. The gut microbiome's impact is far more than just digestive functions for dietary benefits. In a new study, the microorganisms in the stomach are also said to be influenced by a living body's location.

Gut Microbiome Changes in Bird Migration

An individual's gut microbiome can be different from the readings of stomach organisms of a person on the other corner of the globe. This analogy applies not only to people but to the avian species as well. The new study of the University of Chicago proves that birds experience variations in their guts, much like humans. The research offers conclusive evidence that the gut microbiota of birds evolves as they migrate from one place to another.

University of Chicago's Committee on Evolutionary Biology and Field Museum of Natural History's Negaunee Integrative Research Center expert Heather Skeen said in a UPI report that the microbiomes found in the gut of the birds are strongly impacted by the location of where the species reside.

Migration from region to region is natural for birds. Usually, migrating benefits them of safer, more suitable habitat conditions. Travelling allows the fowl species to experience various environmental conditions, and sometimes, it happens a lot of times during a single migratory cycle. There are many details we have gathered from the migration of birds throughout the biological studies, but little is known about the microbiome's activity in their guts as they have as they travel across places.

The research on the correlation between the place of a bird to its gut microbiome was made possible with tracking devices attached by the experts to a group of Kirtland's warbler or Dendroica kirtlandii that are fond of migrating from the Bahamas to Michigan during the summer season.

Kirtland's warblers were first relieved before being released and starting their journey up ahead the northern regions. The process allowed the researchers to have a record of the birds' droppings before their flight. Once they landed in Michigan, the birds were tracked and were examined again through their droppings. The information between the gut microbiomes found in the samples sets of the Kirtland's warblers before and after the migration was compared, and it showed that the microorganisms in their stomach indeed change depending on geographic location.

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Adaptability of Birds From Climate Change

Skeen said that the most beneficial part of the study is that they were able to gather information from the same birds that were initially released and that they were able to harness data from different points of the avian's migration cycle. The results have been recorded from birds that landed on different locations, and this had been a great opportunity for the experts to compare gut microbiomes of birds in the same population and how they changed over the cycle without limitations.

Based on the study, the bacterias in the stomach of birds do not colonize much as the gut microbiomes in mammals do. However, the bacterias are heavily affected by the bird's location. The findings will be further examined to understand more how the gut microbiomes help the birds adapt to climate change. The study was published in the journal Molecular Ecology, titled "Repeated sampling of individuals reveals impact of tropical and temperate habitats on microbiota of a migratory bird."