Gut microbial communities play important roles in host health, modulating development, nutrient acquisition, immune and metabolic regulation, behavior and diseases. Wildlife microbiome studies and host–microbe interaction and exploration might be an important goal for evolutionary biology, conservation, and ecology. Therefore, collection and sampling methods must be considered before choosing a microbiome-based research plan. Since the fecal microbial community reflects the true gut community better than that of cloacal swab samples and only few nondestructive methods have been described, we propose an easy-to-build box for a noninvasive fecal collection method. The main components of the collection box include a plastic storage box, a plastic tray, a vinyl-coated hardware cloth, and a 10% bleach solution. In the plastic box, the tray is positioned under the raised grate, where the bird is placed, to reduce the risk of contamination of the fecal samples. This procedure could simplify handling and processing phases in wild birds or other animals. It might represent a cheap and useful method for research studies, wildlife rescue center activities, veterinary practices, and conservation practitioners.

中文翻译：

---

野生鸟类相关微生物组研究的粪便样本收集方法：野生动物研究的观点。

肠道微生物群落在宿主健康，调节发育，营养获取，免疫和代谢调节，行为和疾病中发挥重要作用。野生生物微生物组研究以及宿主与微生物的相互作用和探索可能是进化生物学，保护和生态学的重要目标。因此，在选择基于微生物组的研究计划之前，必须考虑收集和采样方法。由于粪便微生物群落比泄殖腔拭子样本更好地反映了真实的肠道群落，并且仅描述了几种非破坏性方法，因此我们提出了一种易于构建的无创粪便收集方法盒。收集箱的主要组件包括一个塑料储物箱，一个塑料托盘，一块涂有乙烯基的硬布和10％的漂白剂溶液。在塑料盒里 托盘位于放置禽鸟的高架炉under下面，以减少污染粪便样本的风险。此过程可以简化野生鸟类或其他动物的处理和加工阶段。对于研究，野生动植物救援中心的活动，兽医实践和保护从业人员来说，它可能是一种廉价而有用的方法。