Microbial ecology of natural and artificial penguin burrows: implications for reproductive success, penguin health and conservation management

Abstract

**Abstract:** The provision of artificial breeding sites has been used very successfully around the world as a practical means of managing populations limited by breeding site availability. Over 1000 nest-boxes have been installed on Phillip Island for penguins and up to 90% of the boxes are used for breeding, shelter and moulting. Nest-boxes, persist as breeding sites much longer than most natural sites, sometimes for decades, are excavated less frequently and accumulate significant amounts of excreta. Therefore nest-boxes may harbour a different suite of microbial species than natural burrows with potential implications for penguin health. In addition, soil type may influence the microbial community of a nesting site. This raises the questions, is the microbial community in boxes similar to that in natural burrows? And are birds nesting in boxes at greater risk of disease? This study compared the microbial composition of natural and nest boxes on different soil types to answer these questions. The results from this study have shown that the microbial community (composition and diversity) of penguin burrows differs significantly with time (pre and post-breeding), nest type (natural vs artificial) and soil type (sand vs clay), indicating that artificial burrows, soil composition and penguin attendance influence the microbial composition. However, despite having different microbial communities, nest-boxes had a better breeding success in comparison to natural burrows, reinforcing an earlier study and gives us confidence to continue using nest-boxes to increase the availability of nest sites and enhance penguin adaptation to climate change. **Authors:** Meagan Dewar¹, Eric Woehler², Peter Dann³, Theo Allnutt⁴ ¹Federation University Australia/IPECS, ²University of Tasmania, ³Phillip Island Nature Parks, ⁴Theo Allnutt Bioinformatics