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. 2014 Mar 20;2:e321. doi: 10.7717/peerj.321

Figure 1. Diagrams of how the data could support the major hypotheses.

Figure 1

Diagrams of how the data could support the major hypotheses through dendrograms (top row) and principle coordinates analyses (bottom row), using four (fictional) cowbird microbiota samples (C01–C04) and four host species (H01–H04). (A) Cowbird microbiota may be most closely related to other cowbirds, despite their host species, the “Nature Hypothesis”. (B) Cowbird microbiota may most closely resemble their host microbiota, the “Nurture Hypothesis”. (C) Local factors may determine the gut microbiota, causing birds from different localities (LA vs. CA) to be most similar. (D) Cowbird microbiota may shift between being host-like when they are juveniles (JV) and cowbird-like when they are mature (AD), the “Convergence Hypothesis”.