A multi-year study of gut microbiota in two sympatrically breeding species of penguins at Signy Island, South Orkney Islands
The gut microbiome of Antarctic penguins are important to the fitness of the host birds and their chicks, as well contributing to nutrient cycles and ecosystems in surrounding soils. The composition of microbial communities in Antarctic penguin guts are strongly associated with the birds' diet composition, physiological adaptation and phylogeny. While seasonal changes in food resources, distribution and population parameters of Antarctic penguins have been well addressed, little research into the stability or variability of the penguin gut microbiome over time has been carried out. Here, we investigated if the gut microbiota of two Pygoscelis penguin species breeding sympatrically in the maritime Antarctic differed over three austral summer breeding seasons. We used a high-throughput DNA sequencing approach to study bacterial diversity in stomach regurgitates of Adélie and Chinstrap Penguins that have a similar foraging regime on Signy Island.