Data from: Social behavior mediates the microbiome response to antibiotic treatment in a wild mammal

High levels of social connectivity among group-living animals have been
hypothesized to benefit individuals by creating opportunities to rapidly
reseed the microbiome and maintain stability against disruption. We tested
this hypothesis by perturbing the microbiome of a wild population of
Grant’s gazelles with an antibiotic and asking whether microbiome recovery
differs between individuals with high versus low levels of social
connectivity. We found that after treatment, individuals with high social
connectivity experienced a faster increase in microbiome richness than
less socially connected individuals. Unexpectedly, the rapid increase in
microbiome richness of highly connected individuals that received
treatment led to their microbiomes becoming more distinct relative to the
background population. Our results suggest that the microbiome of
individuals with high social connectivity can be rapidly recolonized after
a perturbation event, but this leads to a more distinct, rather than
similar, microbiome to the unperturbed state. This work provides new
insight into the role of social interactions in shaping the microbiome.