Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41984077›Full record

ArticleBiology open2026

Molluscivorous red knots rapidly adjust to a plant diet.

Marie De Wilde, Berber Maarsingh, Luc G G de Monte, Anne Dekinga, Allert I Bijleveld, Hidde Kressin, Aldert L Zomer, Theunis Piersma

Abstract read
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In one paragraph

Article in Biology open, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Marie De WildeDepartment of Marine Microbiology and Biogeochemistry, NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Den Burg, 1790 AB Texel, The Netherlands.ORCID 0009-0003-1938-6177
Berber MaarsinghFaculty of Science and Engineering, University of Groningen, 9700 AB Groningen, The Netherlands.
Luc G G de MonteDepartment of Coastal Systems, NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Den Burg, 1790 AB Texel, The Netherlands.
Anne DekingaDepartment of Coastal Systems, NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Den Burg, 1790 AB Texel, The Netherlands.
Allert I BijleveldDepartment of Coastal Systems, NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Den Burg, 1790 AB Texel, The Netherlands.
Hidde KressinDepartment of Coastal Systems, NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Den Burg, 1790 AB Texel, The Netherlands.
Aldert L ZomerDepartment of Infectious Diseases and Immunology at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, 3508 TC Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Theunis PiersmaFaculty of Science and Engineering, University of Groningen, 9700 AB Groningen, The Netherlands.

Funding

Koninklijk Nederlands Instituut voor Onderzoek der ZeeUniversiteit Utrecht NZ4543.24
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Dietary flexibility is key to adjusting to environmental change. In Mauritania, the seemingly obligatory molluscivorous red knots Calidris canutus were observed to eat seagrass rhizomes. To study the ability of knots to live on plant material, we performed a diet-change experiment on captive individuals. Two groups of five were fed protein-rich pellets for 13 weeks, then plant-based pellets for 6 weeks, then reversed back to protein-rich pellets for 4.5 weeks. During the first days following the shift to the plant diet, body mass declined by 14% before increasing and stabilizing to lower levels. Faecal colour changed from green (i.e. gall, suggesting starvation) to brown and was produced in larger quantities when the birds ate plant pellets. These experimental data prove that knots can indeed live on a plant-based diet, with the observed changes suggesting that adjustments of the digestive system, i.e. gut morphology and microbiome, take only a few days.

Indexed as

Adaptation, PhysiologicalDietPlantsAnimalsAdaptationCalidris canutusDietary flexibilityDiet-change experimentRed knot

Identifiers

PMID41984077
PMCPMC13133769

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.