Diversity and Human Influence in the Nest Microbiome

Research in the microbiome has flourished in recent years but the study of the dwelling microbiome (home bacteria) is still largely unexplored especially in regards to non-humans. Birds are increasingly influenced by urbanization and the Anthropocene (Sandström et al. 2006), I wondered if the composition of the nest affect the diversity of bacteria in the nest microbiome, and is this affected by objects created by humans? To explore this, research into the material and bacterial composition of 10 House Sparrows (Passer domesticus) was conducted. Ultimately, there was no statistical evidence showing the affect of object diversity on bacterial diversity or on human influences on bacterial diversity in the nest. However, there were potential trends that may suggest that object diversity might actually negatively correlate with bacterial diversity while human influence might promote bacterial diversity. Future research could show an avenue of how humanity has affected microbial and avian life which would better help us understand the role humanity has played in the lives of others on this planet