![]() Given that microbial composition is strongly influenced by environmental factors, the existing research, undertaken on captive animals, offers little scope for examining the effects of the gut microbiota on the host metabolism in the individual’s natural habitats, where factors, such as food availability and climate, vary. To our knowledge, only one study has explored the gut microbiota of harbor seals, but in semi-captive individuals. Various studies have examined the gut microbiota in captive or wild mammals, such as dugongs, manatee, whales, and pinnipeds, revealing a higher microorganisms richness than that found in their terrestrial counterparts, which could be due to the acquisition of marine bacterial taxa. Despite its importance, little is known about the composition of microbiota and its functions in marine mammals, in part due to sample collection difficulties. Gut microbiota plays an essential role in the host´s ontogenetic development, physiology, health, fitness, and nutrient assimilation. crustaceans), providing more precise information on dietary ranges. Recently developed DNA techniques, such as DNA metabarcoding, have identified prey that leave no hard remains ( e. However, there are well known biases in traditional diet analysis techniques, especially in the identification of prey remains, due to digestive erosion. As has been long established, diet largely determines the composition of the gut microbiota community and is considered the main route of microbial colonization. The harbor seal diet is rich in proteins and polyunsaturated fatty acids, which is expected to be reflected in its gut microbiota composition. This diet variability may be reflected in the seals’ microbiota, which may also reveal the presence of harmful substances in the environment. However, differences in the diet have also been found in colonies separated by only 16 km. Based on satellite transmitter data, it is now known that harbor seals forage near their colonies (at distance of between 25 km and 30 km ) therefore, differences in the type of prey consumed are expected, because most of the harbor seal colonies in Baja California are separated by greater distances. Of the pinnipeds found in Mexico, the harbor seal has enabled the most amount of information to be obtained on the quality of their local environment, due to their fidelity to haul-out sites, where they remain all year. Mexican harbor seals feed at low depths, between 5–50 m, mainly on benthic or demersal prey. Harbor seals are considered opportunistic predators with a high trophic level that feed on benthic or pelagic or both species predominantly fish and cephalopods. All of the islands are relatively close to the continental coast (2–50 km), making seals vulnerable to exposure to different disturbances and pollutants generated by human activity. This limit also comprises some areas along the Baja California coastline itself. richardii) is located in Mexico on nine islands from west coast of Baja California: Coronado Todos Santos San Martin San Jeronimo San Benito Cedros Natividad Asuncion and, San Roque. ![]() The southern limit of the distribution of the northern Pacific harbor seal ( P. Please, we strongly recommend to read the Methodology to know more about Google Scholar and its indicators and the way this ranking is built.Harbor seals ( Phoca vitulina) are the pinnipeds with the broadest distribution in the world, including the North Pacific and Atlantic oceans. Please contact us ( ) for suggesting names of Spaniards working at foreign research institutions or informing of errors (non-Spanish nationals, change of address). This is an incomplete list ( updated during the last week of March 2022). Ranking of Spanish researchers working abroad (expats) according to their Google Scholar Citations public profiles ![]()
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