Nasotracheal Microbiota of Nestlings of Parent White storks with Different Foraging Habits in Spain

This study aims to determine genera/species diversity, prevalence, and co-colonization indices of bacteria obtained from tracheal (T) and nasal (N) samples from storks in relation to exposure to point sources through foraging. One-hundred and thirty-six samples from 87 nestlings of colonies of parent white storks with different foraging habits (natural habitat and landfills) were obtained (84  T-samples and 52 N-samples) and processed. Morphologically distinct colonies (up to 12/sample) were randomly selected and identified by MALDI-TOF-MS. About 87.2% of the total 806 isolates recovered were identified: 398 from T-samples (56.6%) and 305 from N-samples (43.4%). Among identified isolate s, 17 genera and 46 species of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria were detected, Staphylococcus (58.0%) and Enterococcus (20.5%) being the most prevalent genera. S. sciuri was the most prevalent species from T (36.7%) and N (34.4%) cavities of total isolates, followed by E. faecalis (11.1% each from T and N), andS. aureus [T (6.5%), N (13.4%)].  Of N-samples,  E. faecium was significantly associated with nestlings of parent storks foraging in landfills (p = 0.018). S. sciuri (p = 0.0034) and M.  caseolyticus (p = 0.032) from T-samples were significantly higher among nestlings of parent storks foraging in natural habitats. More than 80% of bacterial species in the T and N cavities showed 1–10% co-colonization indices with one another, but few had ≥ 40...
Source: EcoHealth - Category: Environmental Health Source Type: research