Sable Island Horse Project

News from a long-term study on the ecology, evolution, and conservation of Sable Island horses. @Usask and @ucalgaryvetmed

[USask Arts and Science @usaskArtSci]

🐎 #USask biology PhD student Victoria Crozier and undergraduate student Olivia Andres were two of three early-career researchers who wrote about their shared experience on the remote Sable Island.

🦭 Read their column in Nature: https://t.co/ZfD75vNggZ

[Jocelyn Poissant (mostly on 🦋) @jocelynpoissant]

Mixed strongyle parasite infections vary across host age and space in a population of feral horses | Parasitology | Cambridge Core - https://t.co/xoBOldIC4Y

[Sable Island Horse Project @SI_Horses]

It’s official, we have migrated to 🦋. Hope to see you there! @sihorses.bsky.social

[Jocelyn Poissant (mostly on 🦋) @jocelynpoissant]

Sharing again for those who were on summer holiday when it came out: Gut microbiome variation predicts survival in feral horses @NatureComms https://t.co/fLeZLoVQMs

[Victoria Crozier ☕️ @victoriacrozie_]

Sable Island season 2 ✔️

Another field season in the books, the longest I’ve been in one place since February. Now I have a few days at home to finish packing, then it’s time to move to Saskatoon!

[Jocelyn Poissant (mostly on 🦋) @jocelynpoissant]

Team Sable Island🐴 2024

[CTV Your Morning Calgary @CTVYMCalgary]

New research at the University of Calgary has found a link between animal health and gut microbiome variations. We hear from a researcher on the project:

https://t.co/ARO5IPAWu5

[Nature Communications @NatureComms]

We lack study of natural selection acting on gut microbiome variation. Stothart et al. provide evidence that gut microbiome variation is associated with survival in a population of feral horses.
@M_Stothart
@jocelynpoissant
@ali_wilson
@ruthjgee
@SI_horses
https://t.co/fYiZCbKPCK

[Jocelyn Poissant (mostly on 🦋) @jocelynpoissant]

Wild horse survival rate linked to methane-producing gut bacteria https://t.co/BneRS9kV4G

[Mason Stothart @M_Stothart]

Proud to see this out from my PhD! The culmination of years of work + data collection by many people. Does gut microbiome variation matter in free-living wildlife?
https://t.co/i6ch9ufS9F

Sure seems to for survival in @SI_Horses

Why?

We think it might be partly related to…

[Mason Stothart @M_Stothart]

Excited to have this paper out from my PhD! Just scratching the surface of this incredible Sable Island horse microbiome dataset. 🐎🦠

[U Calgary @UCalgary]

New @ucalgaryvetmed study uncovers life-sustaining microbiome secrets in wild horses, with far-reaching implications for animal, human, agricultural and environmental health https://t.co/gBeCfUtCyp #UCalgary

[Jocelyn Poissant (mostly on 🦋) @jocelynpoissant]

What the wild horse microbiome can teach us about health and longevity | News | University of Calgary https://t.co/k3GpFSa8xu

[Jocelyn Poissant (mostly on 🦋) @jocelynpoissant]

@M_Stothart @ruthjgee @ali__wilson @McLoughlin_PD Using shallow shotgun sequencing of ~2400 💩 samples collected from ~800 horses over 7 year, we found that gut microbiome taxonomic and functional profiles predict survival, and identified methanogenesis as the likely key proximate mechanism

[Jocelyn Poissant (mostly on 🦋) @jocelynpoissant]

Does the gut microbiome explain variation in fitness in wildlife? Our decade-long effort to answer this question in @SI_horses suggests that it does. Out in @NatureComms today:
https://t.co/fLeZLoViWU

[Sable Island Horse Project @SI_Horses]

3 Sable Island bachelors (photo by @_katiemoyes)

[Jocelyn Poissant (mostly on 🦋) @jocelynpoissant]

We just arrived on Sable Island for the @SI_Horses 17th annual field season 😃

[Erin Cameron @erin_cameron]

Looking for MSc students! I have three fully funded positions available in 2024 on: 1) soil invertebrates in agriculture (with @paulypod, based in his lab); 2) earthworm invasions in Nova Scotian forests; and 3) soil microbes/eDNA on Sable Island:
https://t.co/1cKXTMJc7T

[Jocelyn Poissant (mostly on 🦋) @jocelynpoissant]

Are you an Alberta horse owner? Is so, please consider contributing to our @ucalgaryvetmed study on parasite management practices in the province. The survey takes ~15-20 minutes to complete, and can be accessed here: https://t.co/aRBuxlK5Nb