David Diez Mendez, a postdoc who joined our lab recently, started his work on gut microbiome of birds. After we submitted a grant focusing on this topic, he started some preliminary experiments to obtain some background data which would allow us to design further research correctly. This season, he focuses on the gut microbiome of parents, their offsprings and variability of the microbiome in the nest. He also tests the response of gut microbiome to various dietary additives.