Tardigrades are potentially dispersed by birds, but the extent of the interactions between birds and tardigrades is virtually unknown. We discovered nine tardigrades within feces of White-bellied Seedsnipe (Attagis malouinus) collected from high Andean tundra on Navarino Island, Chile. Eight of the tardigrade specimens began moving once rehydrated. Two specimens belonged to the genus Adropion (Hypsibiidae), one to the Macrobiotus (Macrobiotidae), and five could not be identified. A ninth specimen was a species of Isohypsibius in an embryonic egg state. These tardigrades could have passed through the avian digestive tract after incidental ingestion or burrowed into the feces post-defecation to feed on microorganisms and undigested plant matter present in the feces. To our knowledge, this is the first discovery of tardigrades in bird feces and may have implications for tardigrade distributions if birds transport tardigrades endogenously.

中文翻译：

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鸟类通过动物体内传播缓步动物的可能性：来自亚南极白腹鹬（Attagis malouinus）的证据

缓步动物可能被鸟类驱散，但鸟类和缓步动物之间的相互作用程度实际上是未知的。我们在从智利纳瓦里诺岛高安第斯苔原收集的白腹鹬 (Attagis malouinus) 的粪便中发现了九只缓步动物。八只缓步动物标本在重新水化后开始移动。两个标本属于 Adropion (Hypsibiidae) 属，一个属于 Macrobiotus (Macrobiotidae)，五个无法识别。第九个标本是一种处于胚胎卵状态的 Isohypsibius。这些缓步动物可能在偶然摄入后通过禽类消化道，或者在排便后钻入粪便中，以粪便中存在的微生物和未消化的植物物质为食。据我们所知，