Characterizing the gastrointestinal microbiome of endangered greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) in a conservation program
Date
2023-01-18
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
Greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) are a critically endangered species in Canada with fewer than 140 individuals remaining on native habitats in southern Alberta and Saskatchewan. The Wilder Institute/Calgary Zoo has initiated North America’s only zoo-based conservation breeding program for this species to bolster declining wild populations through conservation reintroductions. The biodiversity of host-associated microbiota is increasingly recognized as a component of wildlife conservation as studies demonstrate the relationship of the microbiome with growth and development, digestion, toxin metabolism, and immune function. Though the importance of microbiome research is becoming more widely known, there is considerably less literature on free-ranging, captive, or domestic avian species compared to mammalian species. Within the managed population of sage-grouse, the largest proportion of morbidity and mortality have been associated with intestinal bacterial infections. Hypothesizing that a lack of bacterial diversity or an altered bacterial community composition may have health effects on the population in both managed care and post-release, the fecal microbiome of adult and juvenile captive sage-grouse was characterized with 16s rRNA sequencing and compared to samples from wild birds. Antibiotic use and sex did not have a significant impact on the diversity or composition of the microbiome in zoo-based animals, but management of juvenile sage-grouse did influence the development of the microbiome. Juveniles that were raised outdoors with access to maternal care developed a microbiome much more similar to captive adults when compared to chicks that were incubated and hand-raised. Significant differences were noted between the captive and wild microbiome when comparing wild samples to both captive adults, and the oldest juveniles temporarily housed in soft-release pens. Differences were driven primarily by altered community composition, and not by a lack of diversity in the managed population. The local environment and diet appear to be important factors influencing the diversity and composition of the gastrointestinal microbiome in this species. Other variables related to captivity, including proximity to humans and chronic stress, may also be contributing to the significant difference seen between managed and wild populations of endangered greater sage-grouse, and deserve further exploration.
Description
Keywords
microbiome, conservation, greater sage-grouse, Centrocercus urophasianus
Citation
Vaasjo, E. (2023). Characterizing the gastrointestinal microbiome of endangered greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) in a conservation program (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.