The normal cutaneous microbiota is necessary for optimal health and prevention of the colonization of pathogenic microorganisms. Knowledge of the normal cutaneous microbiome of various mammalian species has provided valuable information in the understanding of many skin conditions. Our preliminary histopathologic and electron microscopic studies have shown that hair shaft organisms may be associated with areas of alopecia in this species.

The overall aim of this study is to characterize the microbial populations of normal skin and skin with alopecia from healthy and stranded NES. We hypothesize that cutaneous microbiota and mycobiota are similar between animals and between similar sites, and further that there are differences between various body sites and between normal haired skin and alopecic skin. We further hypothesize that alopecia in some of these animals may be caused by a keratinophilic bacteria or fungus leading to hair fragility and breakage. The objective of the proposed study is to profile the fungal mycobiome on an existing set of samples on which we previously characterized the bacterial microbiome. Receiving this funding would allow us to finalize the preliminary study by completing fungal analysis on the cutaneous microbiome of NES.