ArticleScientific reports2022
Age as a primary driver of the gut microbial composition and function in wild harbor seals.
Article in Scientific reports, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers.
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Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 18 citations in OpenAlex.
- The faecal microbiota and its influence on fur seal (Arctocephalus sp.) physiology.Animal microbiome · 2026Article
- Genome-resolved and culture-based atlas of the feline gut microbiome enables host-adapted probiotic development.NPJ biofilms and microbiomes · 2026Article
- Sex and social group altered the gut microbiome and fecal metabolome in the critically endangered Yangtze finless porpoise (Current zoology · 2026Article
- Mucosal immune responses and intestinal microbiome associations in wild spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta).Communications biology · 2025Article
- Skin, but not gut, microbial communities vary with social density in Antarctic fur seals.Frontiers in microbiology · 2025Article
- Unraveling the gut microbiota of Mexican pinnipeds: the dominance of life histories over phylogeny.Applied and environmental microbiology · 2024Article
- The gut microbiomes of Channel Island foxes and island spotted skunks exhibit fine-scale differentiation across host species and island populations.Ecology and evolution · 2024Article
- 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
- Gut microbiota in parasite-transmitting gastropods.Infectious diseases of poverty · 2023Review
- Article
- Taxonomic, Genomic, and Functional Variation in the Gut Microbiomes of Wild Spotted Hyenas Across 2 Decades of Study.mSystems · 2023Article
- Characterising the gut microbiome of stranded harbour seals (Phoca vitulina) in rehabilitation.PloS one · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Dietary changes are the major variation cause in the composition of the gut microbiota. The short lactation phase in phocids provides an exceptional opportunity to explore the microbiota's response to a quick transition from a milk-based to a solid diet. We investigated the effects of age and sex on the gut microbiota of harbor seals in Mexico using rectal and fecal samples from pups and adults. 16S gene sequencing revealed age explains most of the observed variations in microbial composition. Individuals with frequent contact (pups-female adults) have major microbial similarities than those with little or no contact (pups-male adults). Overall, adults and females (regardless of sex and age, respectively) have a greater microbial richness; as seals grow, the core microbiome shrinks, and microbial diversity increases. We found pathways related to milk and chitin digestion in pups' microbiomes, indicating pups were transitioning to a solid diet. An enrichment of routes related to dramatic weight loss and body mass indicated higher metabolic stress in pups in late breeding season, when they are weaned and start intermittent fasting. Our findings highlight the host-microbiome interaction in harbor seals during late breeding season in response to food shifts and metabolic stress.
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