DOI: 10.5061/dryad.mg822
title: Data from: Late-life and intergenerational effects of larval exposure to microbial competitors in the burying beetle Nicrophorus vespilloides

description: Intergenerational effects can have either adaptive or nonadaptive impacts
 on offspring performance. Such effects are likely to be of ecological and
 evolutionary importance in animals with extended parental care, such as
 birds, mammals and some insects. Here, we studied the effects of exposure
 to microbial competition during early development on subsequent
 reproductive success in the burying beetle Nicrophorus vespilloides, an
 insect with elaborate parental care. We found that exposure to high levels
 of microbial competition both during a female’s larval development and
 during her subsequent reproduction resulted in females rearing smaller
 broods than those exposed to lower levels of microbial competition. To
 determine whether these differences arose before or after offspring
 hatching, a cross-fostering experiment was conducted. Our results
 demonstrate that the impact of larval competition with microbes for
 resources extends into adult life and can negatively affect subsequent
 generations via impacts on the quality of parental care provided after
 hatching. However, we also find evidence for some positive effects of
 previous microbial exposure on pre-hatch investment, suggesting that the
 long-term results of competition with microbes may include altering the
 balance of parental investment between pre-hatch and post-hatch care.
description: Brood Failure
 dataBrood failure of
 Nicorphorus vespilloides females on mouse carcasses aged for seven days
 and on fresh carcasses, collected for Experiment 1 in the linked
 publication. ‘History’ refers to the mother’s natal environment,
 ‘Treatment’ to the carcass provided for her first breeding attempt. The
 weight of the female beetle (‘Mother_weight’) and the mouse carcass
 (pre-aging) (‘Mouse_weight’) are given. Brood size refers to the number of
 successfully dispersing offspring.Dryad JEB_12394 Brood Failure
 data csv.csvBrood weight data –
 Experiment 1Brood size and weight
 produced by Nicorphorus vespilloides females on mouse carcasses aged for
 seven days and on fresh carcasses, collected for Experiment 1 in the
 linked publication. ‘History’ refers to the mother’s natal environment,
 ‘Treatment’ to the carcass provided for her first breeding attempt.
 ‘Family’ indicates which sister females were mated to the same male. The
 weight of the female beetle (‘Mother_weight’) and the mouse carcass
 (pre-aging) (‘Mouse_weight’) are given. Brood size refers to the number of
 successfully dispersing offspring.Dryad JEB_12394 Egg data
 csv.csvBrood weight data –
 Experiment 3Brood size and weight of
 cross-fostered Nicorphorus vespilloides broods, collected for Experiment 3
 in the linked publication. The foster mother prepared the mouse carcass
 and provided post-hatch care. ‘Foster_mother history’ and ‘Genetic_mother
 history’ refer to the environment which the breeding females experienced
 as larvae. The weights of the foster mother and of the mouse carcasses
 (which were fresh in all cases) are given. The cross-fostered broods all
 consisted initially of 20 larvae (‘Start_number_larvae’). Survival and
 brood weight were then recorded at 24 hours and at
 dispersal.Dryad JEB_12394 Expt 3 data
 csv.csvEgg data – Experiment
 2Average volume and
 number of eggs produced by Nicorphorus vespilloides females on mouse
 carcasses aged for seven days and on fresh carcasses, collected for
 Experiment 2 in the linked publication. ‘History’ refers to the mother’s
 natal environment. The weight of the female beetle (‘Mother_weight’) is
 also given.Dryad JEB_12394 Egg data
 csv.csv