Inter-Research > ESR > v42 > p95-108  
ESR
Endangered Species Research

via Mailchimp

ESR 42:95-108 (2020)  -  DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/esr01042

The gut bacterial microbiota of sea turtles differs between geographically distinct populations

T. Franciscus Scheelings1,*, Robert J. Moore2, Thi Thu Hao Van2, Marcel Klaassen3, Richard D. Reina1

1School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Wellington Rd, Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia
2School of Science, RMIT University, Bundoora West Campus, Plenty Rd, Bundoora, Victoria 3083, Australia
3Centre for Integrative Ecology, Deakin University, Waurn Ponds, Victoria 3216, Australia
*Corresponding author:

ABSTRACT: The microbiota of metazoans can be influenced by a variety of factors including diet, environment and genetics. In this study we sampled multiple populations from 2 host species that do not overlap in distribution, in order to test whether their bacterial microbiotas are species-specific or more variable. Intestinal swabs were collected from loggerhead turtles originating from Florida, USA, and Queensland, Australia, as well as from flatback turtles from Crab Island, Queensland, and Port Hedland, Western Australia. We then manually extracted bacterial DNA and used 16S rRNA sequencing to explore bacterial microbial community composition and structure. Our investigation showed that the bacterial microbiota of sea turtles is heavily influenced by geography, with loggerhead turtles originating from the USA and Australia harbouring significantly different bacterial microbial populations in terms of composition. Similarly, we also found that flatback turtles from Crab Island had significantly less diverse microbiotas, with a predominance of the bacterial phylum Firmicutes, in comparison to their genetically similar counterparts from Port Hedland. Factors that may explain these observed differences between populations include host genetics, differences in foraging habitat quality and differences in migratory distance (and thus durations of inappetence) between foraging and breeding grounds. The mechanisms by which these factors may influence bacterial microbial composition of sea turtle gastrointestinal tracts warrants further investigation. The results of this study highlight the importance of interpreting microbiota data of wild animals in the context of geography.


KEY WORDS: Microbiota · Flatback turtle · Loggerhead turtle · Geography


Full text in pdf format
Supplementary material
Cite this article as: Scheelings TF, Moore RJ, Van TTH, Klaassen M, Reina RD (2020) The gut bacterial microbiota of sea turtles differs between geographically distinct populations. Endang Species Res 42:95-108. https://doi.org/10.3354/esr01042

Export citation
Share:    Facebook - - linkedIn

 Previous article Next article