Videvall lab

Wildlife microbiomes

Scandinavian wolverine, photo by Jonathan Othén.

We are fascinated by microbiomes in animals, how these microbial communities are formed and how they affect their hosts.

Our research questions include for example: which symbiotic microbes live in association with wild animals and how does microbial variation look like among individuals? How are microbes inherited from parents to offspring? And to what extent are they shaped by the local environment versus the animals' own genomes? How much does diet influence the microbiome? And how does captivity and feralization affect their diversity and composition? Finally, how does the microbiome, in turn, impact animal health, fitness, and the phenotype, including behavior?

We use DNA sequencing methods of different mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians to investigate these questions.

For more information, please see our external website

Gruppmedlemmar

Forskningsledare: Elin Videvall

Gruppmedlemmar: Charlotte Enkvist, Pilar López Hernández, Ester Martínez Renau, Akanksha Shirish Palsole, David Simons, Gersende Feraud, Qianrui Yang

Publications

Bridging the gap: improving methodologies for future avian microbiome research

Davies, Charli S.; Capilla-Lasheras, Pablo; Catelan-Carphio, Elena; Castro, Alejandro Corregidor- et al.

Part of Journal of Avian Biology, 2026
- DOI for Bridging the gap: improving methodologies for future avian microbiome research
- Download full text (pdf) of Bridging the gap: improving methodologies for future avian microbiome research
Fine-Scale Variation in the Gut Microbiome of the European Pied Flycatcher Ficedula hypoleuca in Central Spain

Videvall, Elin; Ruiz-Limon, Patricia; Martinez-Padilla, Jesus; Moreno-Indias, Isabel et al.

Part of Ardeola (Madrid), p. 23-43, 2026
- DOI for Fine-Scale Variation in the Gut Microbiome of the European Pied Flycatcher Ficedula hypoleuca in Central Spain
Effects of avian Plasmodium exposure on the microbiota of Culex pipiens

Garrigós, Marta; García-Ruiz, Olaya; Enkvist, Charlotte R.; García-López, María José et al.

Part of Scientific Reports, 2025
- DOI for Effects of avian Plasmodium exposure on the microbiota of Culex pipiens
- Download full text (pdf) of Effects of avian Plasmodium exposure on the microbiota of Culex pipiens
Diet-microbiome covariation across three giraffe species in a close-contact zone

Videvall, Elin; Gill, Brian A.; Brown, Michael B.; Hoff, Hannah K. et al.

Part of Global Ecology and Conservation, 2025
- DOI for Diet-microbiome covariation across three giraffe species in a close-contact zone
- Download full text (pdf) of Diet-microbiome covariation across three giraffe species in a close-contact zone
Probing the functional significance of wild animal microbiomes using omics data

Worsley, Sarah F.; Videvall, Elin; Harrison, Xavier A.; Björk, Johannes R. et al.

Part of Functional Ecology, p. 2329-2349, 2024
- DOI for Probing the functional significance of wild animal microbiomes using omics data
- Download full text (pdf) of Probing the functional significance of wild animal microbiomes using omics data
The Role of Geography, Diet, and Host Phylogeny on the Gut Microbiome in the Hawaiian Honeycreeper Radiation

Costantini, Maria S.; Videvall, Elin; Foster, Jeffrey T.; Medeiros, Matthew C. I. et al.

Part of Ecology and Evolution, 2024
- DOI for The Role of Geography, Diet, and Host Phylogeny on the Gut Microbiome in the Hawaiian Honeycreeper Radiation
- Download full text (pdf) of The Role of Geography, Diet, and Host Phylogeny on the Gut Microbiome in the Hawaiian Honeycreeper Radiation
Measuring the gut microbiome in birds: Comparison of faecal and cloacal sampling

Videvall, Elin; Strandh, Maria; Engelbrecht, Anel; Cloete, Schalk et al.

Part of Molecular Ecology Resources, p. 424-434, 2017
- DOI for Measuring the gut microbiome in birds: Comparison of faecal and cloacal sampling
Butterfly monitoring using systematically placed transects in contrasting climatic regions – exploring an established spatial design for sampling

Videvall, Elin; Öckinger, Erik; Pettersson, Lars

Part of Nature Conservation, p. 41-62, 2016
- DOI for Butterfly monitoring using systematically placed transects in contrasting climatic regions – exploring an established spatial design for sampling
Molecular ecology of microbiomes in the wild: Common pitfalls, methodological advances and future directions

Fountain‐Jones, Nicholas M.; Giraud, Tatiana; Zinger, Lucie; Bik, Holly et al.

Part of Molecular Ecology, 2024
- DOI for Molecular ecology of microbiomes in the wild: Common pitfalls, methodological advances and future directions
Insights into Avian Incomplete Dosage Compensation: Sex-Biased Gene Expression Coevolves with Sex Chromosome Degeneration in the Common Whitethroat

Sigeman, Hanna; Ponnikas, Suvi; Videvall, Elin; Zhang, Hongkai et al.

Part of Genes, p. 373-373, 2018
- DOI for Insights into Avian Incomplete Dosage Compensation: Sex-Biased Gene Expression Coevolves with Sex Chromosome Degeneration in the Common Whitethroat

Part of research areas

Animal Ecology