DOI: 10.5061/dryad.jq2bvq89g
title: Data from: Distinct colony boundaries and larval discrimination in polygyne red imported fire ants (Solenopsis invicta)

description: Evaluating the factors that promote invasive ant abundance is critical to
 assess their ecological impact and inform their management. Many invasive
 ant species show reduced nestmate recognition and an absence of boundaries
 between unrelated nests, which allow populations to achieve greater
 densities due to reduced intraspecific competition. We examined nestmate
 discrimination and colony boundaries in introduced populations of the red
 imported fire ant (Solenopsis invicta; hereafter, fire ant). Fire ants
 occur in two social forms: monogyne (colonies with a single egg-laying
 queen) and polygyne (colonies with multiple egg-laying queens). In
 contrast with monogyne nests, polygyne nests are thought to be
 interconnected due to the reduced antagonism between non-nestmate polygyne
 workers, perhaps because polygyne workers habituate the colony to an odor
 unique to Gp-9b-carrying adults. However, colony boundaries and nestmate
 discrimination are poorly documented, particularly for worker-brood
 interactions. To delimit boundaries between field colonies, we correlated
 the exchange of a 15N-glycine tracer dissolved in a sucrose solution with
 social form. We also evaluated nestmate discrimination between polygyne
 workers and larvae in the laboratory. Counter to our expectations,
 polygyne colonies behaved identically to monogyne colonies, suggesting
 both social forms maintain strict colony boundaries. Polygyne workers also
 preferentially fed larval nestmates and may have selectively cannibalized
 non-nestmates. The levels of relatedness among workers in polygyne
 colonies was higher than those previously reported in North America (mean
 ±SE: 0.269 ± 0.037). Our study highlights the importance of combining
 genetic analyses with direct quantification of resource exchange to better
 understand the factors influencing ant invasions.
description: Descriptions for "FireAnt_Data_revised.xlsx" FILE (also
 included in the README.txt) "null" has been
 included in all empty cells. Sheet 1 -
 "Raw_Isotope_Data"<br> This includes all of the raw
 isotope data, lat long coordinates of each mound, and distance to the
 treated mound in meters (0 if the mound was the treated mound). <br>
 "Site" corresponds to one of six total sites (A, Br, O, C, T,
 and T2 - locations of each site is described in the original
 paper). <br> "Cluster" refers to the cluster of mounds
 that were treated within each site. <br> "Mound" refers to
 the mounds within each cluster (0 corresponds with the mound that was
 treated with the isotope tracer). <br> "Time" corresponds
 to when the treated mounds were given the isotope tracer (0 refers to
 pre-treatment, 1 refers to post-treatment). <br> "d15N" is
 the nitrogen-15 isotope values of ants from each mound. <br>
 "d13C" is the carbon-13 isotope values of ants from each
 mound. <br> "percN" is the percent nitrogen of ants from
 each mound. <br> "percC" is the percent carbon of ants
 from each mound. <br> "lat" and "long"
 correspond to latitudinal and longitudinal GPS coordinates of each
 mound. <br> "Distance" is the distance in meters of the
 mound from the treated mound within each cluster.
 Sheets 2-4 - "Genepop_format",
 "Genotypes_S.invicta", "Sampling_summary"<br>
 Raw microsatellite results for each worker within each mound (eight
 workers per mound whenever possible). <br>
 "Genepop_format" is the raw file that can be used in
 Genepop. <br> The "Individual" column in
 "Genotypes_S.invicta" corresponds to a unique ID for each worker
 & mound (explained in the
 "Sampling_summary"). <br> "Sol49_1",
 "Sol49_2", "Sol42_1", "Sol42_2",
 "Sol55_1", "Sol55_2", "Sol20_1",
 "Sol20_2", "Sol11_1", "Sol11_2" correspond
 to the microsatellites used (as described in the original
 paper). <br> "GP-9" corresponds to the Gp-9 status of the
 workers (polygyne or monogyne). Sheet 5 -
 "Relatedness_Papers"<br> Includes all of the reviewed
 papers appearing in Figure 3 of the manuscript. Standard error of all
 relatedness values are included whenever these results were given in the
 original study. <br> "Study" refers to the specific study
 where the values were obtained. <br> "Reference_in_plot"
 refers to the number included in Figure 3 of the manuscript. <br>
 "Social.form" refers to the social form of the fire ants
 studied.<br> "Location" is where the ants were collected
 in each study.<br> "Relatedness" is the relatedness
 coefficient extracted from the study (either from tables or from plots
 using ImageJ).<br> "SE" is standard error of the
 relatedness coefficients whenever these results were given in the original
 study.<br> "Measure" refers to what type of relatedness
 coefficient was given (i.e., Queller relatedness coefficient or Regression
 coefficients of relatedness).<br> "Sig.greater.0" is
 whether the relatedness coefficient was found to be significantly greater
 than 0 in the study.<br> "Notes" are additional notes from
 each study. Sheet 6-7 -
 "LabExp_Larvae_Remaining",
 "LabExp_Larvae_Fed"<br> Results from laboratory
 experiments testing nestmate recognition in fire ants, as described in the
 manuscript. <br> "Colony" refers to the natal colony
 identity of the workers.<br> Data includes the number of larvae
 remaining that were from a different colony (non-nestmates) and from the
 same colony (nestmates), and the percent of larvae fed that were from a
 different colony (non-nestmates) and from the same colony
 (nestmates).