RT Journal Article
T1 Environmental Quality Assessment Using Fecal Metabolomics in Waterfowl from Protected Wetlands in Southwest Spain
A1 Navarro Fernández, Cristina
A1 Callejón Leblic, María Belén
A1 Domínguez Bustos, Ángel Rafael
A1 Molina, Isabel
A1 Hortas, Francisco
A1 García Barrera, Tamara
AB The study of environmental stress requires an understanding of biological responses to pollutants, which can be difficult to interpret due to multiple influencing factors. This study investigates the fecal metabolome of waterfowl as bioindicators of environmental quality in two protected wetlands in southwestern Spain: the Odiel Marshes Biosphere Reserve (OMBR) and the Cádiz Bay Important Bird Area (CBIBA). Using untargeted UHPLC-QTOF-MS metabolomics, fecal samples were analyzed from five species: spoonbills, black-headed gulls, yellow-legged gulls, lesser black-backed gulls, and storks. Significant alterations were observed in key metabolites, including fatty acids, steroids, glycerophospholipids, and sphingolipids, reflecting differences in diet, habitat use, and pollutant exposure. In spoonbills, steroids and fatty acids represented the largest fractions of the detected metabolites, while comparisons between gull species revealed variations in fatty acid and glycerophospholipid levels. Multivariate analyses showed a clear separation between species and sites. Pathway analysis identified several altered metabolic routes, primarily involving fatty acid, bile acid, and sphingolipid metabolism. Overall, these results demonstrate that fecal metabolomics is a robust noninvasive tool for assessing pollution-related physiological changes, confirming waterbirds as effective bioindicators of wetland ecosystem health.
PB American Chemical Society
SN 2690-0637 (electrónico)
YR 2026
FD 2026
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10272/28200
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10272/28200
LA eng
NO Navarro-Fernández, C., Callejón-Leblic, B., Domínguez-Bustos, Á. R., Molina, I., Hortas, F., & García-Barrera, T. (2026). Environmental Quality Assessment Using Fecal Metabolomics in Waterfowl from Protected Wetlands in Southwest Spain. ACS ES&T Water, 6(3), 1775–1785. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsestwater.5c01312
NO Project I+D+i PCM_00023 “Monitorización ambiental mediante metodologías ómicas y analíticas utilizando aves y sus hábitats como bioindicadores de calidad ambiental (MONAMBIO)”, subsidized by the Administration of the Junta de Andalucía, Ministry of University, Research and Innovation, within the framework of the Complementary Plan for Marine Sciences and the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, in its call for the 2023 financial year (Measure: C17. I1). Aid cofinanced 100% by the European Union through the European Union’s Recovery and Resilience Facility. “Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan─Financed by the European Union─NextGenerationEU”. Project TED2021-130361B–I00 (Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (MCIN)). Knowledge Generation. MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and European Union “NextGenerationEU”/PRTR≫. The authors are grateful to the FEDER Grant UNHU13-1E-161. Funding for open access charge: Universidad de Huelva/CBUA.
DS Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Huelva
RD 1 jun 2026