DOI: 10.5061/dryad.vhhmgqp75
title: The fecundity–longevity trade-off in a clonal eusocial insect: in isolation, subordinate workers match dominants in reproduction

description: Reproductive division of labor (DOL) is key to the ecological success of
 eusocial insects such as ants, termites, and honeybees, in which queens
 reproduce while workers perform non-reproductive tasks. DOL is often
 associated with a shift in the fecundity-longevity trade-off, with queens
 outliving non-reproductive workers. In most species, reproductive and
 non-reproductive individuals differ significantly (e.g., in ontogeny or
 morphology), which may contribute to this phenomenon. In contrast, in the
 ant Platythyrea punctata, females are clonally identical, and socially
 dominant workers produce female offspring from unfertilized eggs by
 thelytokous parthenogenesis. We investigated whether all workers, i.e.,
 dominants and subordinates, reproduce when given the opportunity. We
 formed dyads of workers of the same age and allowed them to establish rank
 orders. We then investigated their reproductive performance in isolation.
 We found that nearly 88% of workers, regardless of social rank, activated
 their ovaries in isolation. However, of the 12% that never laid eggs, a
 higher proportion were previously classified as subordinates than as
 dominants. This suggests that reproductive ability may differ among
 workers. Isolated subordinates that were reproductively active matched
 isolated dominants in their egg-laying rate, with no apparent trade-off
 between fecundity and longevity. Reproductive costs, likely related to the
 use of physiological or energetic resources, were evident for both workers
 in isolation, as egg-laying rates declined over time in the absence of
 supportive workers. These results highlight the complex interplay between
 reproduction, longevity, and social status in eusocial insects and provide
 insights into how eusociality has shaped aging and life history evolution.
description: # The fecundity–longevity trade-off in a clonal eusocial insect: in
 isolation, subordinate workers match dominants in reproduction Dataset
 DOI: [10.5061/dryad.vhhmgqp75](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.vhhmgqp75) ##
 GENERAL INFORMATION A. Paper associated with this archive Citation: Shit,
 P., J. Heinze, and A. Bernadou. The fecundity–longevity trade-off in a
 clonal eusocial insect: in isolation, subordinate workers match dominants
 in reproduction. American Naturalist. B. Originators Piuli Shit,
 Zoology/Evolutionary Biology, University of Regensburg, Regensburg,
 Germany Jürgen Heinze, Zoology/Evolutionary Biology, University of
 Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany Abel Bernadou, Centre de Recherches sur la
 Cognition Animale, Centre de Biologie Intégrative, Université de Toulouse,
 CNRS, Toulouse, France C. Contact information Piuli Shit:
 [ps13ms048@gmail.com](mailto:ps13ms048@gmail.com) Jürgen Heinze:
 [Juergen.Heinze@biologie.uni-regensburg.de](mailto:Juergen.Heinze@biologie.uni-regensburg.de) Abel Bernadou: [abel.bernadou@utoulouse.fr](mailto:abel.bernadou@utoulouse.fr) D. Funding Sources PS was funded by Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst DAAD grant no. 91769756. AB was supported by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft DFG grant no. BE6684/1-1 (Research Unit “So-long” - FOR 2218), the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, University of Toulouse, and the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (grant ANR-22-CPJ2-0133-01). ## ACCESS INFORMATION 1\. Recommended citation for this data/code archive Shit, P., J. Heinze, and A. Bernadou. 2025. Data from: The fecundity–longevity trade-off in a clonal eusocial insect: in isolation, subordinate workers match dominants in reproduction. American Naturalist, Dryad Digital Repository, [https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.vhhmgqp75](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.vhhmgqp75) ## DATA & CODE FILE OVERVIEW This data repository consist of 4 data files, 1 code scripts, and this README document, with the following data and code filenames and variables ### Data files and variables #### SurvFeco_Data.txt - Dataset for longevity and reproduction of *Platythyrea punctata* workers * Batch (Experiment was conducted in separate batches), * Sl (Individuals grouped together), * Colony (Stock colonies), * Treatment (Experimental treatment – Egg removal), * Treatment (Experimental treatment – Egg removal, explicit name), * Position_Nest (Number of times the ant was found inside the nest cavity, but not at the entrance), * Position_Entrance (Number of times the ant was found at the entrance of the nest), * Position_Out (Number of times the ant was found outside the nest), * Eggs_in_Petridish1 (Eggs laid over 0-12 days), * Eggs_in_Petridish2 (Eggs laid over 12-24 days), * Eggs_in_treatment (Eggs laid during the treatment), * Eggs_BeforeDeath (Eggs laid in between two counting if the ants died), * Total_eggs (Total eggs laid), * Lifespan_Total (Lifespan of the ants in days), * Surv_Status (Ants that died or not during the experiments, 1=alive or 2=died), * SocStatus_Final (Social status of the ants, S=subordinate or D=dominant) #### ColoniesExcluded_Data.txt - Colonies excluded * Sl (Individuals grouped together), * Colony (Stock colonies), * Treatment (Experimental treatment – Egg removal), * Treatment (Experimental treatment – Egg removal, explicit name), * Position_Nest (Number of times the ant was found inside the nest cavity, but not at the entrance), * Position_Entrance (Number of times the ant was found at the entrance of the nest), * Position_Out (Number of times the ant was found outside the nest), * Eggs_in_Petridish1 (Eggs laid over 0-12 days), * Eggs_in_Petridish2 (Eggs laid over 12-24 days), * Eggs_in_treatment (Eggs laid during the treatment), * Eggs_BeforeDeath (Eggs laid in between two counting if the ants died), * Total_eggs (Total eggs laid), * Lifespan_Total (Lifespan of the ants in days), * Surv_Status (Ants that died or not during the experiments, 1=alive or 2=died), * SocStatus_Final (Social status of the ants, here NA because social status could not be determined based on spatial position see the supplementary material for details about method validation) #### EggDyn_Data.txt - Dataset for egg-laying dynamics * Batch (Experiment was conducted in separate batches), * Sl (Individuals grouped together), * Colony (Stock colonies), * ID_Indiv (Individual identity), * Treatment (Experimental treatment – Egg removal), * Day (days of eggs removal), * Eggs_day (Eggs laid per day), * SocStatus_Final (Social status of the ants, S=subordinate or D=dominant) #### EggVolumes_Data.txt - Dataset for egg quality analysis * Batch (Experiment was conducted in separate batches), * Sl (Individuals grouped together), * Colony (Stock colonies), * ID_Indiv (Individual identity), * Treatment (Experimental treatment – Egg removal), * Day (days of eggs removal), * Volume (Volume of the eggs in mm3), * SocStatus_Final (Social status of the ants, S=subordinate or D=dominant) ## Code scripts and workflow * Script_DataAnalysis.R - Script for the analysis and figures ### SOFTWARE VERSIONS \[R version 4.4.1 (2024-06-14), coxme_2.2-20, survminer_0.4.9, survival_3.6-4, nlme_3.1-164, mgcv_1.9-1, car_3.1-3, magrittr_2.0.3, dplyr_1.1.4, ggplot2_3.5.2, ggsci_3.2.0, ggpubr_0.6.0]