Data from: Stress and the microbiome: linking glucocorticoids to bacterial community dynamics in wild red squirrels

Bacterial diversity within animals is emerging as an essential component
of health, but it is unknown how stress may influence the microbiome. We
quantify a proximate link between the oral microbiome and
hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis activity using faecal
glucocorticoid metabolites (FGM) in wild red squirrels (Tamiasciurus
hudsonicus). Not only was bacterial diversity lower at higher levels of
FGM, but also between capture periods a change in bacterial relative
abundance was related to an increase in FGM. These linkages between the
HPA axis and microbiome communities represent a powerful capacity for
stress to have multi-dimensional effects on health.