ArticleScientific reports2026
Early-life gut microbiota differentiation in sympatric wild raptors.
Article in Scientific reports, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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6 authors.
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Abstract
The establishment of the gut microbiota during early life plays a crucial role in host physiology and development, yet remains poorly understood under natural conditions, particularly in wild raptors. Limited access to free-living nestlings constrains our understanding of how host species identity, parental trophic ecology (shaping dietary microbial input and nutrient availability), and environmental factors structure early-life microbiota. Here, we investigated the gut microbiota of nestlings of two sympatric raptor species, the white-tailed eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) and the lesser spotted eagle (Clanga pomarina), which differ in parental foraging ecology (fish/waterbird vs. small mammal-based diet). Using non-invasive fecal sampling during routine ringing, we characterized gut microbiota composition and predicted functional potential, and tested the effects of host species, geographic distance between nests, and within-nest variability. Gut microbiota composition differed markedly between species, with clear separation of microbial communities and higher alpha diversity in white-tailed eagle nestlings. In contrast, geographic distance between nests had a limited influence on microbiome structure, while pronounced inter-individual and within-nest variability was observed, highlighting the importance of individual-specific and potentially stochastic processes during early microbiome assembly. Predicted functional profiles also differed between species, with enrichment of amino acid biosynthesis pathways in white-tailed eagles and carbohydrate-related pathways in lesser spotted eagles. No dysbiosis-like microbiome profiles were detected in either species, providing a baseline for future comparative studies. Overall, our findings demonstrate strong species-level differentiation in early-life gut microbiota in wild raptors, in the context of contrasting trophic ecology, while local environmental variation appears to be of secondary importance.
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