Date: 11/18/24 9:57 am From: JANINE PERLMAN <jpandjf...> Subject: Re: New AAST supported paper
That is super interesting and important! It has implications, and raises questions, not just for birds, but far beyond them, too.
Congratulations indeed to the authors -- and thank you, Kannan, for alerting us. Really cool!!
On Monday, November 18, 2024 at 10:35:34 AM CST, Ragupathy Kannan <0000013b0ad14faf-dmarc-request...> wrote:
Congratulations to Dr. Than Boves and his student Alix Mathews on this new paper. The project was supported by the Arkansas Audubon Society Trust.
Matthews, A. E., Trevelline, B. K., Wijeratne, A. J., & Boves, T. J. (2024). Picky eaters: Selective microbial diet of avian ectosymbionts. Journal of AnimalEcology, 00, 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.14215
Abstract1. Individual organisms can function as ecosystems inhabited by symbionts. Symbionts may interact with each other in ways that subsequently influence theirhosts positively or negatively, although the details of how these interactions op-erate collectively are usually not well understood.
2. Vane-dwelling feather mites are common ectosymbionts of birds and are pro-posed to confer benefits to hosts by consuming feather-degrading microbes.
However, it is unknown whether these mites exhibit generalist or selective diets,or how their dietary selection could potentially impact their symbiotic functionalnature.
3. In this study, we conducted 16S rDNA and ITS1 amplicon sequencing to examinethe microbial diet of feather mites. We characterized and compared the diversityand composition of bacteria and fungi in the bodies of mites living on feathers ofthe Prothonotary Warbler, Protonotaria citrea, to microbial assemblages presenton the same feathers.
4. We found less diverse, more compositionally similar microbial assemblages withinmites than on feathers. We also found that mites were resource-selective. Basedon the identity and known functions of microbes found within and presumablypreferred by mites, our results suggest that these mites selectively consumefeather-degrading microbes. Therefore, our results support the proposition thatmites confer benefits to their hosts.
5. This study provides insight into symbioses operating at multiple biological levels,highlights the ecological and evolutionary importance of the synergistic interac-tions between species, and greatly expands our understanding of feather mitebiology.
