Direct and indirect effects of pesticide exposure on farmland raptor gut microbiota

Recent studies in humans have shown that certain pesticides could affect the composition and functions of gut microbiota, an essential modulator of vertebrate physiology, leading to potential dysbiosis. However, this relationship remains largely unknown in wild birds despite the implications of pesticides in the current decline of farmland species. The present study sought to fill this gap by providing data on the association between pesticide concentrations in blood and gut microbiota characteristics in relation to individual traits in a farmland raptor, the Montagu’s Harrier (Circus pygargus). Results showed that females with higher body condition and higher pesticide load harboured a higher gut bacterial richness and diversity, while the relationship was opposite in males with higher body condition. Regarding taxonomic composition, Proteobacteria were the main phylum found in all nestlings. Differences in certain phylum and genus abundance according to pesticide load were found, with..., Microbial samples were collected by performing cloacal lavages on 22 Montagu's Harrier (Circus pygargus) nestlings. Samples were then analysed using a standard 16S amplicon metabarcoding sequencing method, with paired-end Illumina sequencing., , # Direct and indirect effects of pesticide exposure on farmland raptor gut microbiota

[https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.r7sqv9snf](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.r7sqv9snf)

## Description of the data and file structure

### Files and variables

#### File: Harrier\_microbiome\_raw\_sequencing\_data.zip

**Description:** This compressed folder contains 6 compressed fastq files corresponding to the raw pre-processed sequencing data produced by Illumina sequencing. The prefixes *phytobird1*, *phytobird2*, and *phytobird3* correspond to the 3 PCR replicates of each sample performed in 3 different libraries. The suffixes *R1.fastq and R2.fastq* correspond to the 2 paired-end readings of each sequence.

The folder also contains 3 *ngsfilter.tab* files corresponding to each of the 3 libraries. Each of these files contains the following variables:

###### *Variables*

* Column A: project name
* Column B: Sample ID name, Harrier samples contain the letters \"BU\". Identification codes BLK... and Vide...,