Uropygial gland microbiota of Neotropical migrants vary with season and migration distance

Hypothesizing that temporal, geographic, and phylogenetic effects influence host microbiota, we evaluated the effects of season, migration distance, and phylogeny on the uropygial gland microbiota of 18 passerine species from 11 families. By sampling 473 birds at a single stopover location during spring and fall migration and using 16S rRNA sequencing, we demonstrate that season, followed by migration distance, had the strongest influence on uropygial gland microbial community composition.