DOI: 10.5061/dryad.k98sf7mkp
title: Data from: Flexible, but not enough: How an omnivorous ant copes with macronutrient imbalances

description: Omnivores may have high flexibility in adjusting their ingestion rates and
 degree of food selectivity to regulate the nutrient uptake and maintain
 homeostasis. However, if resources are limited, their ability to regulate
 the nutrient balance may be constrained, affecting their performance and
 ecological functions. Here, we studied how an omnivorous ant species,
 Dorymyrmex tener, deals with a nutritionally unbalanced diet, which in
 turn may affect population dynamics. We first, determined the elemental
 composition of D. tener under natural scenarios of resource variability.
 Then, to test how different fixed diets (in terms of C:N ratio) influence
 pre- and post-ingestive regulating mechanisms, we exposed colonies to two
 diets with different C:N ratios (18:1 and 15:1). We measured food
 consumption as a proxy of pre-ingestive mechanism, and phenotypic and
 behavioral plasticity as a proxy of post-ingestive mechanisms (i.e., body
 weight and C:N ratio, and activity level, predator behavior, and
 interspecific aggression, respectively). Finally, to determine the colony
 performance we assessed worker and juvenile’s mortality. We found that
 field colonies of D. tener maintained their homeostasis (measured as C:N
 ratio) despite seasonal variations in resource availability. Furthermore,
 experimental colonies fed a 15:1 C:N ratio diet showed a higher per capita
 food consumption and had marginally heavier workers compared to those fed
 the 18:1 diet. However, these dietary differences did not lead to
 detectable changes in behavioral traits such as activity levels,
 predation, or aggression, nor did they impact overall colony performance.
 Our findings suggest that this omnivorous ant possesses a well-developed
 regulatory mechanism for maintaining macronutrient balance, primarily
 through pre-ingestive strategies. However, its ability to compensate for
 nutritional imbalances may be constrained in environments with limited
 food diversity, potentially affecting its ecological performance and
 resilience.
description: # Data from: Flexible, but not enough: How an omnivorous ant copes with
 macronutrient imbalances Article DOI:
 [https://doi.org/110.1002/oik.11557](https://doi.org/110.1002/oik.11557)
 Dataset DOI: [10.5061/dryad.k98sf7mkp](10.5061/dryad.k98sf7mkp) ##
 Description of the data and file structure This dataset contains
 experimental data from *Dorymyrmex tener* ant colonies, organized into two
 `.csv` files: `Post-ingest.csv` and `Pre-ingest.csv`. Both files share the
 variable **Colony**, which provides a consistent colony ID across
 datasets. --- ## 1. File: `Post-ingest.csv` Data collected after food
 ingestion. Variables are grouped into body mass, elemental composition,
 behavioral traits, and mortality. ### Variable description: | Variable |
 Description | Units / Categories | | ------------------ |
 -------------------------------------------------- | ------------------ |
 | Colony | Unique colony ID | ID (string/number) | | Treatment |
 Experimental treatment group | categorical | | weight\_Worker | Average
 worker body mass | mg | | weight\_Queen | Queen body mass | mg | |
 C\_Worker | Carbon content of workers | % dry mass | | C\_Queen | Carbon
 content of queens | % dry mass | | N\_Worker | Nitrogen content of workers
 | % dry mass | | N\_Queen | Nitrogen content of queens | % dry mass | |
 C\_N\_Worker | Carbon:Nitrogen ratio of workers | ratio | | C\_N\_Queen |
 Carbon:Nitrogen ratio of queens | ratio | | tFirstAnt | Time until the
 first ant found the structure | seconds | | x.Ant\_explore | Mean number
 of ants exploring the foraging arena | numeric | | aggressive\_score |
 Aggressiveness score against congeneric species | dimensionless | |
 confront\_fate | Outcome of confrontations with congeneric species |
 categorical | | tDisc | Time to first detection of prey | seconds | |
 tFirstBite | Time to first bite on prey | seconds | | bitting.larva |
 Number of ants biting the prey | numeric | | Alive\_experiments | Number
 of ants alive during behavioral experiments | numeric | | Dead | Number of
 ants dead at the end of the experiment | numeric | | Alive | Number of
 ants alive at the end of the experiment | numeric | --- ## 2. File:
 `Pre-ingest.csv` Data collected **before ingestion**, including food
 consumption per colony. ### Variable description: | Variable | Description
 | Units / Categories | | ---------------------- |
 --------------------------------------- | ------------------ | | Colony |
 Unique colony ID | ID (string/number) | | Treatment | Experimental
 treatment group | categorical | | Date | Calendar date of feeding
 experiment | date (DD/MM/YYYY) | | DateOrd | Ordered numeric date for
 analysis | text | | Consumption.day.capita | Food consumed per capita by
 each colony | mg/ant/week | --- ## 3. Notes on missing values * Missing
 values are explicitly coded as `n/a`. * Interpretation of `n/a`: * In one
 colony, no queens could be collected, resulting in two queenless
 sub-colonies. * For one sub-colony, it was not possible to determine C and
 N content of workers. * For another sub-colony, it was not possible to
 record predation behavior.