Study
The microbiome of New World vultures
Roggenbuck, Michael; Schnell, Ida Bærholm; Blom, Nikolaj; Bælum, Jacob; Bertelsen, Mads F.; Sicheritz-Pontén, Thomas
Nature Communications, 2014
Microbial communities from the facial skin and the hindgut of wild vultures were sequenced and compared, establishing which taxa survive passage through the digestive tract.
- Studied in
- Coragyps atratus, Cathartes aura
- Sample size
- facial and gut microbial communities sequenced from wild-caught vultures
Facial communities were diverse and reflected the carcasses fed on. Hindgut communities were far less diverse and dominated by taxa including clostridia and fusobacteria — groups toxic to many other vertebrates — indicating severe filtering during passage and tolerance of what survives.
What it means
The authors' reading, and ours. Where they differ, that difference is the point.
How the authors put it
Vultures combine a harsh digestive filter with tolerance of, and possibly reliance on, bacteria that would sicken other animals.
How NatureHQ reads it
The two-sided result is what makes this useful. The obvious story is a gut that destroys everything, and the sequencing shows something more interesting: most of what is eaten is destroyed, and what survives is a community other vertebrates could not carry. The scavenger is not merely resistant; it is host to a flora that matches its diet.
- Two New World species; Old World vultures are not closely related to them and were not sampled.
- Sequencing identifies which taxa are present, not what they do for the bird.
What this study is used for on NatureHQ
One study can inform several subjects. Here is everywhere this one is cited.
Published by: Nature PortfolioPublished in a Nature Portfolio journal.
Checked against Crossref on 2026-09-28, and they agree on the title, the authors and the year.
NatureHQ summarises research in its own words and does not reproduce published text. Reviewed 2026-09-03.