Data from: Species-specific and microbial variability in the antimicrobial efficacy of uropygial secretions in wild passerines
Data files
Nov 12, 2025 version files 151.37 KB
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Mora-Rubio_R_scripts.txt
26.93 KB
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Mora-Rubio2025.csv
122.26 KB
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README.md
2.18 KB
Abstract
Uropygial secretions are thought to play an antimicrobial role in birds, but few studies have compared their effectiveness across multiple species and microorganisms using standardized methods. We evaluated the antimicrobial activity of uropygial secretions from 212 individuals of 11 passerine species in southwestern Spain, testing their inhibitory effects against Bacillus licheniformis, B. subtilis, Candida albicans, Escherichia coli, and Salmonella typhimurium by flow cytometry. Antimicrobial activity varied significantly among species and microorganisms: house sparrows (Passer domesticus) consistently exhibited stronger and broader responses, whereas activity against S. typhimurium was generally low. Phylogeny, migratory status, and social behavior did not explain variation, but uropygial gland size was positively associated with antimicrobial activity both globally and in some bird species. Body condition exhibited species-specific associations with antimicrobial activity, showing positive correlations in some bird species and negative correlations in others. Overall, our findings highlight the uneven distribution of antimicrobial defenses among passerines and underscore the importance of comparative, chemically informed, and methodologically standardized approaches to clarify the ecological and evolutionary significance of uropygial secretions.
Files included
a) Mora-Rubio2025.csv
This CSV file contains the full dataset used in the analyses.
Each row corresponds to an individual bird and its associated measurements and antimicrobial assay outcomes.
Column descriptions
- ID_LabMarzal
Unique identifier assigned to each bird in the Marzal Lab database. - Species
Species of the sampled bird - Status
Migratory behavior of the species:- migratory – migratory species
- resident – resident species
- Family
Taxonomic family of the bird (e.g., Paridae, Hirundinidae, Sylviidae). - Volumegland
Volume of uropygial secretion used in the antimicrobial assays (in mm3). - Tarsus
Tarsus length (mm). - Weight
Body mass of the individual (g). - Bodycondition
Body condition index calculated as the residuals of the regression of body mass on tarsus length. - Bacteria
Species of the microorganism (bacterium or fungus) used in the antimicrobial test.
Antimicrobial activity variables
These columns represent inhibition values obtained under different assay conditions, varying both secretion volume and incubation time.
- ABA124
Antimicrobial activity using 1 µL of secretion at 24 hours. - ABA148
Antimicrobial activity using 1 µL of secretion at 48 hours. - ABA224
Antimicrobial activity using 2 µL of secretion at 24 hours. - ABA248
Antimicrobial activity using 2 µL of secretion at 48 hours.
These variables allow the assessment of microbicidal and microbiostatic effects across bird species, bacterial strains, secretion volumes, and incubation times.
b) Mora-Rubio_R_scripts.txt
This plain text (.txt) file contains all R scripts used to reproduce the statistical analyses and figures presented in the manuscript.
Contents of the script file
- Data import and cleaning steps for the csv file.
- Calculation of the body condition index (residuals of mass ~ tarsus).
- Identification and coding of antimicrobial vs. microbiostatic effects.
- Statistical tests (non-parametric tests, GLMMs, post-hoc comparisons).