Experimental manipulation of captive social environment affects uropygial gland microbiome but not preen oil volatile composition in a songbird

This study aimed to study the impact of social contact in affecting the microbiome of a songbird's preen gland, which mediates chemical signals in this species. Over the span of 16 days, dark-eyed juncos were put into sub-species specific and sex-specific flocks (day 0), placed back into male-female pairs (day 4), and then placed back into their original flocks (day 12). We found that preen oil scent does not affect the scent from preen oil, but we found changes in microbial diversity of the preen gland over the span of this 16 day study.