Relationships between fisheries, foodweb structure, and detrital pathway in a large shallow lake

et al. 2021

BMC Microbiol

Background Chinese soft-shell turtle (Pelodiscus sinensis) is an important commercial species for their high nutritional value and unique taste, but it has been a vulnerable species due to habitat loss. In this study, homologous juvenile turtles were allocated to lake, pond and paddy field to investigate the habitat effects on turtles. Results The growth, morphology and gut microbial communities were monitored during the 4 months cultural period. It showed higher growth rate of turtles in paddy field and pond. The appearance, visceral coefficients, gut morphology and microbial communities in turtles were distinct among different habitats. The microbial community richness on Chao1 was obviously lower in initial turtle guts from greenhouses, whereas it was relative higher in turtle guts sampled from paddy fields than ponds and lake. Significant differences on dominant microbes were found among initial and subsequent samples from different habitats. Firmicutes was the most abundant phylum in the guts of turtles sampled from the greenhouse initially, while Proteobacteria was the most abundant phylum after cultivation in different habitats, followed by Bacteroidetes. The microbial composition were distinct in different habitats at 60d, and the appearance of dominant phyla and genera was more driven by sampling time than habitats at 120d. Both the sampling time and habitats affected the appearance of dominant phyla and genera during the cultivation. The functional predictions indicated that both habitat type and sampling time had significant effects on metabolic pathways, especially amino acid and carbohydrate metabolism. Conclusions The turtles could adapt to natural lakes, artificial ponds and paddy fields. The gut microbial abundance was different among the habitats and sampling time. The species of microbes were significantly more diverse in paddy field specimens than in those from ponds and lakes. Rice-turtle coculture is a potential ecological and economic farming mode that plays important roles in wild turtle protection and food security.

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gut microbiota of homologous Chinese soft-shell turtles (Pelodiscus sinensis) in different habitats

et al. 2021

BMC Microbiol

“…Considering the similarity of natural conditions as geographical location, climate, rainfall and temperature for the mentioned three habitats, the food intake and relative living space might be the main factors determining the growth and physiology of turtles in this study [36,37]. Wild turtles are predominantly carnivorous and prey on small sh, mollusks, crustaceans, insects or their larvae, occasionally some plant seeds, but the food abundance was affected by water environment, competitor or enemy [38,39].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 90%

Gut microbiota in homologous Chinese soft-shell turtle (Pelodiscus sinensis) under different habitats

et al. 2020

Preprint

Background Chinese soft-shell turtle (Pelodiscus sinensis) is an important commercial species for its high nutritive and medicinal value, but it has been a vulnerable species due to habitat loss. In this study, homologous juvenile turtles were allocated to lake, pond and paddy field to investigate the habitat effects on turtles. Results The growth, morphology and gut microbial communities were monitored during the 4 months cultural period. It showed higher growth rate of turtles in paddy field and pond. The appearance, visceral coefficients, gut morphology and microbial communities in turtles were distinct among different habitats, which was mainly attributed to food abundance and living space. The diversity of gut microbial community was obviously higher in turtles from paddy field than pond and lake. Significant differences on dominant phyla, genera and species were found among initial samples and subsequent samples from different habitats. Firmicutes was the most abundant phylum in turtle gut sampled from greenhouse at initial and Proteobacteria was the most abundant phylum after cultivated in different habitats. The functional predictions indicated that both habitat type and sampling time had significant effects on metabolic pathways, especially amino acid and carbohydrate metabolism. Conclusion The microbial abundance was different among the habitats and varied within cultural periods. Gut microbes in turtles from paddy field presented high diversity and richness. Rice-turtle coculture was a potential ecological and economic farming mode for its high production and quality of both turtles and rice, which would play important roles in wild turtle protection, food security and paddy field environment improvement.

“…Considering the similarity of natural conditions, such as geographical location, climate, rainfall and temperature, among the mentioned three habitats, the food intake and relative living space might be the main factors determining the growth and physiology of turtles in this study [36,37]. Wild turtles are predominantly carnivorous and prey on small sh, mollusks, crustaceans, insects or their larvae, and occasionally some plant seeds, but food abundance is affected by the aquatic environment, competitors and natural enemies [38,39]. In the present study, turtles in paddy elds and ponds were regularly fed arti cial feeds, but no such feeds were provided for turtles in the lake during the experiment.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Gut microbiota of homologous Chinese soft-shell turtles ( Pelodiscus sinensis ) in different habitats

et al. 2020

Preprint

Background Chinese soft-shell turtle (Pelodiscus sinensis) is an important commercial species for their high nutritional value and unique taste, but it has been a vulnerable species due to habitat loss. In this study, homologous juvenile turtles were allocated to lake, pond and paddy field to investigate the habitat effects on turtles. Results The growth, morphology and gut microbial communities were monitored during the 4 months cultural period. It showed higher growth rate of turtles in paddy field and pond. The appearance, visceral coefficients, gut morphology and microbial communities in turtles were distinct among different habitats. The alpha diversity was obviously lower in initial turtle guts from greenhouses, whereas it was obviously higher in turtle guts sampled from paddy fields than ponds and lake. Significant differences on dominant phyla, genera and species were found among initial samples and subsequent samples from different habitats. Firmicutes was the most abundant phylum in the guts of turtles sampled from the greenhouse initially, while Proteobacteria was the most abundant phylum after cultivation in different habitats, followed by Bacteroidetes. The microbial composition were distinct in different habitats at 60d, and the appearance of dominant phyla and genera was more driven by sampling time than habitats at 120d. Both the sampling time and habitats affected the appearance of dominant phyla and genera during the cultivation. The functional predictions indicated that both habitat type and sampling time had significant effects on metabolic pathways, especially amino acid and carbohydrate metabolism.Conclusion The turtles could adapt to natural lakes, artificial ponds and paddy fields. The gut microbial abundance was different among the habitats and sampling time. The species of microbes were significantly more diverse in paddy field specimens than in those from ponds and lakes. Rice-turtle coculture is a potential ecological and economic farming mode that plays important roles in wild turtle protection and food security.