Dietary niche breadth influences the effects of urbanization on the gut
microbiota of sympatric rodents
Abstract
Cities are among the most extreme forms of anthropogenic ecosystem
modification and urbanization processes exert profound effects on animal
populations through multiple ecological pathways. Increased access to
human associated food items may alter species’ foraging behavior and
diet, in turn modifying the normal microbial community of the
gastrointestinal tract, ultimately impacting their health. It is crucial
we understand the role of dietary niche breadth and the resulting shift
in the gut microbiota as urban animals navigate novel dietary resources.
We combined stable isotope analysis of hair and microbiome analysis of
four gut regions across the gastrointestinal tract to investigate the
effects of urbanization on the diet and gut microbiota of two sympatric
species of rodent with different dietary niches; the omnivorous large
Japanese field mouse (Apodemus speciosus) and the relatively more
herbivorous grey red-backed vole (Myodes rufocanus). Both species
exhibited an expanded dietary niche width within the urban areas
potentially attributable to novel anthropogenic foods and altered
resource availability. We detected a dietary shift in which urban A.
speciosus consumed more terrestrial animal protein and M. rufocanus more
plant leaves and stems. Such changes in resource use may be associated
with an altered gut microbial community structure. There was an
increased abundance of the presumably probiotic Lactobacillus in the
small intestine of urban A. speciosus and potentially pathogenic
Helicobacter in the colon of M. rufocanus. Together, these results
suggest that even taxonomically similar species may exhibit divergent
responses to urbanization with consequences for the gut microbiota and
broader ecological interactions.