Effect of urbanization and parasitism on the gut microbiota of Darwin's
finch nestlings
Abstract
Host-associated microbiota can be affected by factors related to
environmental change, such as urbanization and invasive species. For
example, urban areas often affect food availability for animals, which
can change their gut microbiota. Invasive parasites can also influence
microbiota through either competition or indirectly through a change in
the host immune response. These interacting factors can have complex
effects on host fitness, but few studies have disentangled the
relationship between urbanization and parasitism on an organism’s gut
microbial composition. To address this gap in knowledge, we investigated
the effects of urbanization and parasitism by the invasive avian vampire
fly (Philornis downsi) on the gut microbiota of nestling small ground
finches (Geospiza fuliginosa) on San Cristóbal Island, Galápagos. We
conducted a factorial study in which we experimentally manipulated
parasite presence in an urban and non-urban area. Feces were then
collected when nestlings to characterize the gut microbiota (i.e., alpha
and beta diversity, community composition). Although we did not find an
interactive effect of urbanization and parasitism on the microbiota, we
did find main effects of each variable. Urban and parasitized nestlings
had lower bacterial diversity and differences in relative abundance of
bacterial phyla and genera compared to non-urban non-parasitized
nestlings, respectively. Overall, this study advances our understanding
of the complex effects of anthropogenic stressors on the gut microbiota
of birds.