Im-peck-able UCC research

Researchers on Leeside have found that the gut microbiome affects the health of wild birds, which could impact their survival rates and ultimately population sizes.

The first of its kind study published on Monday in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, led by UCC, provides direct evidence of the role of the gut microbiome in the ecology and evolution of natural populations. The researchers manipulated a wild bird’s (the Great Tit Parus Major) microbiome by feeding them a microorganism known as Lactobacillus kimchicus.

Large quantities of this bacterium were cultured from the gut microbiome of nestling birds in 2020 and converted into a freeze-dried powder. In a woodland location in West Cork, pots of mealworms were placed outside bird’s nest boxes. A selection of nests received plain mealworms in pots and a selection received mealworms coated in freeze-dried Lactobacillus kimchicus bacteria.

Taking the mealworms from the pots, the parent birds in the nests fed both themselves and the nestling birds. At various points throughout the nesting stage, the researchers measured the weight of the nestling birds and collected their faecal samples to examine their gut microbiota.

The researchers discovered that nestling birds fed with the added Lactobacillus had a different composition of bacteria in their gut microbiota and were also heavier in weight during the all-important growth period just before they fledge the nest, in comparison to the chicks fed without added bacterium.

The team comprised of researchers at UCC’s School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences (BEES), Teagasc Moorepark Food Research Centre, APC Microbiome Ireland, a world-leading Research Ireland Centre based at UCC, in collaboration with the University of East Anglia and the Co-Centre for Climate + Biodiversity + Water at Trinity College Dublin.

Lead author of the study was Dr Shane Somers, who conducted the study as part of his PhD in the School of BEES and APC Microbiome Ireland at UCC.

He said: “While laboratory studies have shown that the microbiome can affect the health of rodents and humans, very few studies have looked at the microbiome of wild animals. Calories in the wild are hard to come by, much harder, for example, than for humans in contemporary society.

“This means any advantage an individual can get will be important for their survival.

“Our findings are significant because we show that the gut microbiome can give its host a likely survival advantage in the wild.”