Significant Differences in the Gut Bacterial Communities of Hooded Crane (Grus monacha) in Different Seasons at a Stopover Site on the Flyway

摘要

Intestinal bacterial taxa play an important role in maintaining the normal physiological ecology of animals. Many factors affect the composition and diversity of the intestinal bacterial community, including diet, environment and season. However, the unique life cycle of birds makes it interesting to study their gut bacteria, especially migratory birds. Birds use many habitats and food resources, which may influence their intestinal bacterial community structure during seasonal migration. Hooded crane ( ) is one such migrant waterbird that traverses long distances and occupies varied habitats. In this study, we investigated the diversity and differences in intestinal bacterial communities of hooded cranes over the migratory season. The intestinal bacterial alpha-diversity of hooded cranes in winter was significantly higher than fall and spring. The gut bacterial community composition differed significantly across the three seasons (ANOSIM, = 0.001). This study provides baseline information on the seasonal dynamics of intestinal bacteria in migratory hooded cranes.