Understanding the interplay between the gut microbiome, behavior and urbanisation in wild birds

了解野生鸟类肠道微生物组、行为和城市化之间的相互作用

• 批准号: 2876993
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: University of East Anglia
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Studentship
• 财政年份: 2027
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2027 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=studentship-2876993
• 关键词: Understanding; interplay; between; gut; microbiome

SCIENTIFIC BACKGROUNDBehaviour facilitates rapid, flexible responses to environmental change. Despite accumulating evidence that intestinal microbiota communities and their genes (the gut microbiome) have beneficial effects on host behaviour, our understanding of these mechanisms operating in wild animals is sorely lacking. What are the consequences of gut microbiome variation for behavioural responses to anthropogenic activities? And how does urbanisation shape wild animal gut microbiomes?Pinpointing the mechanisms that contribute to urban success in wildlife is an important conservation goal. Individuals with high levels of behavioural flexibility are more likely to thrive in urban environments, but we have yet to understand what drives behavioural variation. If the gut microbiome regulates behaviour, then the environmental impact associated with land use change may be so sudden and extreme that it prevents wildlife from acquiring beneficial gut microbes necessary to behave flexibly and survive in novel habitats.The UK's largest new town developments (Northstowe, New Waterbeach) are in East Anglia, and you will address the urgent and timely hypothesis that rural bird gut microbiomes may limit or facilitate behavioural responses to urbanisation.METHODSYou will combine research with wild great tit (Parus major) populations, and citizen science-based bird monitoring. You will collect faecal samples from birds in the wild, fit birds with radio frequency identification (RFID) tags and measure their behaviour using RFID feeders. You will pioneer a novel and practical monitoring program to collect wildlife faecal samples through citizen science with access to the British Trust for Ornithology's (BTO) exceptional Garden BirdWatch scheme. You will perform 16S rRNA sequencing paired with metabolic functional analyses to unpick microbiome-host behaviour relationships. The following objectives will be prioritised and developed according to your interests: 1) Quantify gut microbiome variation between urban and rural populations.2) Assess whether the gut microbiome predicts behaviours associated with urban success (e.g. behavioural flexibility and boldness).3) Determine the gut microbiome's role in facilitating or limiting individual acclimation to newly developed urban environments.

科学背景行为有助于对环境变化做出快速、灵活的反应。尽管越来越多的证据表明肠道微生物群落及其基因（肠道微生物组）对宿主行为具有有益影响，但我们对野生动物中这些机制的了解却非常缺乏。肠道微生物组变异对人类活动的行为反应有何影响？城市化如何塑造野生动物肠道微生物组？查明有助于城市野生动物成功的机制是一个重要的保护目标。行为灵活性高的个体更有可能在城市环境中茁壮成长，但我们尚未了解是什么驱动了行为变化。如果肠道微生物组调节行为，那么与土地利用变化相关的环境影响可能会如此突然和极端，以至于阻止野生动物获得灵活行为和在新栖息地生存所必需的有益肠道微生物。英国最大的新城开发项目（诺斯斯托，新水滩）位于东安格利亚，您将解决农村鸟类肠道微生物组可能限制或促进对城市化的行为反应这一紧急而及时的假设。方法您将把研究与野生大山雀（Parus Major）结合起来人口和基于公民科学的鸟类监测。您将从野外鸟类身上收集粪便样本，为鸟类贴上射频识别 (RFID) 标签，并使用 RFID 喂食器测量它们的行为。您将开创一种新颖实用的监测计划，通过公民科学收集野生动物粪便样本，并参与英国鸟类学信托基金 (BTO) 的特殊花园观鸟计划。您将执行 16S rRNA 测序并结合代谢功能分析来解开微生物组与宿主行为的关系。将根据您的兴趣优先考虑和制定以下目标：1) 量化城市和农村人口之间肠道微生物组的差异。2) 评估肠道微生物组是否可以预测与城市成功相关的行为（例如行为灵活性和大胆性）。3) 确定肠道微生物组在促进或限制个体适应新开发的城市环境方面的作用。