DOI: 10.5061/dryad.rbnzs7hqm
title: No evidence for quorum sensing during egg hatching in the cestode <em>Schistocephalus solidus</em>

description: Schistocephalus solidus is a parasitic cestode with a complex, multi-host
 life cycle. S. solidus reproduces in its terminal host either by
 exchanging gametes with similarly sized individuals or selfing. Fertilized
 eggs then pass through the feces of the host and hatch at the bottom of
 freshwater lakes. Previous work found that selfing greatly depresses egg
 hatching rates, presumably as a result of inbreeding depression. We
 predicted that S. solidus may have evolved quorum sensing (QS) during
 hatching as a mechanism to facilitate synchronized infection, thereby
 increasing the opportunity for outcrossing in its terminal host. We tested
 whether density-dependent hatch rates were present across three parasite
 populations, examining both outcrossed and selfed progeny. We predicted
 that if QS was present, it would be common across all populations, and
 that increasing egg density would result in higher hatching rates. We also
 expected that outcrossed eggs would hatch at higher rates than those
 produced via selfing. While we found different hatching rates between
 populations, there was no effect of egg density. Selfed eggs did hatch at
 significantly lower rates than outcrossed eggs, replicating previous
 findings. Although we failed to find density-dependent hatching in our
 limited sample, we conclude by discussing the conditions in which QS may
 evolve in isolated S. solidus populations.
description: # No evidence for quorum sensing during egg hatching in the cestode
 *Schistocephalus solidus* Dataset DOI:
 [10.5061/dryad.rbnzs7hqm](10.5061/dryad.rbnzs7hqm) ## Description of the
 data and file structure This dataset accompanies the manuscript "No
 evidence for quorum sensing during egg hatching in the cestode
 *Schistocephalus solidus*," accepted at *PeerJ.* The zipped files are
 photos of *S. solidus* eggs taken at 40x, used to count the number of
 hatched and unhatched eggs. The raw count data is in the Excel
 spreadsheet, and the analysis is in the R script. ## Access information
 Other publicly accessible locations of the data: *
 [https://github.com/EmilyKerns/SSolidusEggDensity](https://github.com/EmilyKerns/SSolidusEggDensity) ## File descriptions * Final_Density_analysis_RandomEffects.R * R script used to analyze the data. We tested whether egg solution volume is a valid proxy for egg density by examining its relationship with total egg counts across clutches. Volume strongly and positively predicted egg number, though the strength of this relationship differed among clutches. * Density.plate.eggs_dryad.xlsx * Raw counts of eggs. The sheet "Trimmed 2" is used to analyze the data in R. Cross ID is composed of the population name followed by the specific cross used to generate eggs. Well describes the location in a 24 well plate, with columns labeled as numbers and rows labeled as letters. For example, B2 is the well in the second row and second column of the 24 well plate.  * EchoBulk2B_12.9.zip * Photos of the eggs from Echo Lake, Canada * The naming convention of the folder is CrossID_Date * The naming convention of each photo is CrossID_Well_Date * Well refers to which well was used in a 24 well plate. Rows correspond to letters and columns correspond to numbers. For example, well 1A is the well in the first column of the first row.  * Myvatin3-1A_1021.zip * Photos of eggs from Myvatin, Iceland * The naming convention of the folder is CrossID_Date * The naming convention of each photo is CrossID.DateWell;Magnification;PhotoReplicate * Photo replicate refers to how many photos were taken at this location * Myvatn3-1A_1014.zip * Photos of eggs from Myvatin, Iceland * The naming convention of the folder is CrossID_Date * The naming convention of each photo is CrossID.DateWell;Magnification;PhotoReplicate * Photo replicate refers to how many photos were taken at this location * Myvatn3-1C.zip * Photos of eggs from Myvatin, Iceland * The naming convention of the folder is CrossID * The naming convention of each photo is CrossID.DateWell;Magnification;PhotoReplicate * Photo replicate refers to how many photos were taken at this location * Walby.Bulk.4.zip * Photos of eggs from Walby Lake, Alaska * The naming convention of the folder is CrossID * The naming convention of each photo is CrossID.DateWell;Magnification;PhotoReplicate * Photo replicate refers to how many photos were taken at this location * Walby23_2.zip * Photos of eggs from Walby Lake, Alaska * The naming convention of the folder is CrossID * The naming convention of each photo is CrossID_Well_Date