Microbiota of Procellariiform

This study characterises the microbial composition Procellariiform seabirds and examines the influence of stomach oils on the microbial community using q16S rRNA pyrosequencing. The results indicated that Procellariiform seabirds harbour a highly diverse community of microbes, dominated by three phyla; Firmicutes, Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes and that a high level of dissimilarity exists between all three species. A Significant differences were observed when comparing the oil producing and non-oil producing seabirds. In addition, negative correlations were observed by a Pearsons Correlation network between stomach oil producing (FP and STS) and non-stomach oil producing (CDP) Procellariiformes.