ArticleMicrobiologyOpen2022
A comparative study of the fecal microbiota of gray seal pups and yearlings - a marine mammal sentinel species.
Article in MicrobiologyOpen, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed.
- Respiratory bacteriome and its predicted functional profiles in blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus).Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Skin, but not gut, microbial communities vary with social density in Antarctic fur seals.Frontiers in microbiology · 2025Article
- Grey and harbor seals in France (mainland and Saint-Pierre et Miquelon): microbial communities and identification of a microbial source tracking seal marker.Frontiers in microbiology · 2024Article
- Convergent evolution of the gut microbiome in marine carnivores.Ecology and evolution · 2022Article
- A comparative study of the fecal microbiota of gray seal pups and yearlings - a marine mammal sentinel species.MicrobiologyOpen · 2022Article
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Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Gray seals (Halichoerus grypus) can act as sentinel species reflecting the condition of the environment they inhabit. Our previous research identified strains of pathogenic Campylobacter and Salmonella, originating from both human and agricultural animal hosts, on rectal swabs from live gray seal (H. grypus) pups and yearlings on the Isle of May, Scotland, UK. We examined rectal swabs from the same pup (n = 90) and yearling (n = 19) gray seals to gain further understanding into the effects of age-related changes (pup vs. yearling) and three different natal terrestrial habitats on seal pup fecal microbiota. DNA was extracted from a subset of rectal swabs (pups n = 23, yearlings n = 9) using an optimized procedure, and the V4 region of the 16S ribosomal RNA gene was sequenced to identify each individual's microbiota. Diversity in pup samples was lower (3.92 ± 0.19) than yearlings (4.66 ± 0.39) although not significant at the p = 0.05 level (p = 0.062) but differences in the composition of the microbiota were (p < 0.001). Similarly, differences between the composition of the microbiota from pups from three different terrestrial habitats (Pilgrim's Haven [PH], Rona Rocks [RR], and Tarbet Slope [TS]) were highly significant (p < 0.001). Pairwise tests showed significant differences between all three habitats: PH versus TS (p = 0.019), PH versus RR (p = 0.042) and TS versus RR (p = 0.020). This preliminary study suggests a general trend, that seal microbiomes are modified by both age and, in pups, different terrestrial habitats. Furthermore, knowledge of the microbiota species present has the potential to be used in determining the environmental quality index.
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Registered trials
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