DOI: 10.5061/dryad.qt4nf
title: Data from: Parental care masks a density-dependent shift from cooperation to competition among burying beetle larvae

description: Studies of siblings have focused mainly on their competitive interactions
 and to a lesser extent on their cooperation. However, competition and
 cooperation are at opposite ends on a continuum of possible interactions
 and the nature of these interactions may be flexible with ecological
 factors tipping the balance towards competition in some environments and
 cooperation in others. Here we show that the presence of parental care and
 the density of larvae on the breeding carcass change the outcome of
 sibling interactions in burying beetle broods. With full parental care
 there was a strong negative relationship between larval density and larval
 mass, consistent with sibling competition for resources. In the absence of
 care, initial increases in larval density had beneficial effects on larval
 mass but further increases in larval density reduced larval mass. This
 likely reflects a density dependent shift between cooperation and
 competition. In a second experiment, we manipulated larval density and
 removed parental care. We found that the ability of larvae to penetrate
 the breeding carcass increased with larval density and that feeding within
 the carcass resulted in heavier larvae than feeding outside the carcass.
 However, larval density did not influence carcass decay.
description: Experiment 1: Parental
 care and the relationship between larval density and average larval
 massThis file contains data
 from Experiment 1: Parental care and the relationship between larval
 density and average larval mass. The columns are as follow: 1. care: Full
 = full parental care, No Care = no post-hatching care. 2. reduced: whether
 the brood was experimentally reduced, 0 = no, 1 = yes. 3. brood_mass: the
 total mass of the entire brood at dispersal in grams. 4. carc_wt: the mass
 of the breeding carcass in grams. 5. no_larvae: the number of larvae at
 dispersal. 6. density: the number of larvae at dispersal divided by the
 mass of the breeding carcass. 6. avg_larval_mass: the average mass of
 larvae at dispersal (brood_mass / no_larvae).expt_1_data.csvExperiment 2: The effect of larval density on the ability of larvae to enter the carcass and carcass decompositionThese data are form experiment 2: The effect of larval density on the ability of larvae to enter the carcass and carcass decomposition. The columns are as follow: 1. pair: a unique identifier for the breeding pair. 2. carc_wt: the mass of the breeding carcass in grams. 3. manipulated_brood_size: the experimentally manipulated number of larvae on the carcass. 4. density: the density of larvae on the breeding carcass at manipulation (manipulated_brood_size / carc_wt). 5. hole_at_manipulation: whether larvae were feeding within the carcass at the time of brood manipulation, 0 = no, 1 = yes. 6. in_carcass: whether larvae were feeding within the carcass 90 hours after pairing, 0 = no, 1 = yes. 7. mold_at_90_hrs: whether there was mold growing in the carcass 90 hours after pairing, 0 = no, 1 = yes. 8. mold_at_114_hours: whether there was mold growing in the carcass 114 hours after pairing, 0 = no, 1 = yes.expt_2_A.csvExperiment 2: The relationship between larval density and average larval mass at 120 hours after paring.These data are from pairs in experiment 2 that had larvae 120 hours after pairing. The columns are as follow: 1. pair: a unique identifier for each breeding pair. 2. manipulated_brood_size: the experimentally manipulated number of larvae on the breeding carcass. 3. carc_wt: the mass of the breeding carcass in grams. 4. feeding_inside: whether larvae were feeding in the carcass 120 hours after pairing, 0 = no, 1 = yes. 5. brood_size_at_120_hours: the number of larvae on the breeding carcass 120 hours after pairing. 6. brood_mass: the total mass of the brood in grams at 120 hours. 7. average_larval_mass: the average mass of larvae on the breeding carcass 120 hours after pairing (brood_mass / brood_size_at_120_hours.expt_2_b.csv