DOI: 10.5061/dryad.sxksn0392
title: Data from: A new mechanistic model for individual growth suggests upregulated maintenance costs when food is scarce in an insect

description: In order to calibrate and evaluate a recently developed growth model, the
 Maintenance-Growth Model (MGM), for the case of growth under food
 restriction, empirical data for house crickets (Acheta domesticus) were
 collected and analysed. This data set contains data for individually
 reared crickets growing under two different regimes of controlled food
 limitation as well as data for food-limited cohorts of growing house
 crickets. The sets include temporal data for body mass and ingestion as
 well as age and size at maturation (imago emergence). The data for
 food-limited cohorts were collected prior to this study and parts of it
 have previously been analysed and presented in a publication on animal
 self-thinning.  
description: Data <strong>for individually reared house
 crickets</strong> 81 newly hatched nymphs of
 house crickets (<em>Acheta domesticus</em>) were collected,
 weighted and reared individually in plastic boxes at an ambient
 temperature of 28.6 °C for 72 days. A controlled amount of food (an equal
 mixture of pellets for rats and guinea pigs) was provided twice a week
 (every 4th or 3rd day). Each cricket was exposed to one of two different
 treatments; 1) moderate food restriction or 2) strong food restriction,
 see the table below. At each feeding occasion, the weight of the cricket
 and remaining food and faecal material were measured. Sex and age at imago
 emergence was recorded for each individual. At some occasions, faeces were
 separated from remaining food and weighted separately (in order to
 estimate relative egestion rate). See the related manuscript for a
 detailed description of the experimental setup. <strong>Treatment</strong> <strong>Food supply <br>at day 1 [mg]</strong> <strong>Food supply <br>at day 4 [mg]</strong> <strong>Resulting average <br>food supply </strong><strong>[mg/day]</strong> <strong>Number of <br>male replicates</strong> <strong>Number of <br></strong><strong>female replicates</strong> Moderate food restriction 90 120 5 25 16 Strong food restriction 15 20 30 21 19 <strong>Data for cohorts of house crickets</strong> Newly hatched nymphs of house crickets (<em>Acheta domesticus</em>) were collected, weighted and reared in cohorts at a temperature of 30.5 °C. A fixed amount of food (an equal mixture of pellets for rats and guinea pigs) was provided at regular time intervals (1200 mg each week). The initial number of individuals in each cohort varied according to the table below. Surviving individuals were regularly counted and weighed. The data were collected prior to this study and parts of it have previously been analysed and presented in a publication on animal self-thinning (Jonsson 2017). See this and the current manuscript for more details of the experimental setup.  <strong>Starting density</strong> 5 10 20 40 80 <strong>Number of cohorts</strong> 30 18 12 6 5 The average mass of all individuals in a cohort was calculated and used as juvenile growth data for both sexes. When the sex could be identified for at least some individuals, sex-specific average masses were calculated based on these and used to represent the cohort (though individuals that could not be identified by sex were excluded). Sex-specific average growth data were thereby obtained for each cohort.  <strong>Reference</strong> Jonsson T (2017) Metabolic theory predicts animal self-thinning. <em>Journal of Animal Ecology</em> <strong>86</strong>:645-653. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.12638
description: # Growth data for house crickets reared under food limitation
 ## **Data for individually
 reared house crickets** Newly hatched nymphs of house crickets (*Acheta
 domesticus*) were collected, weighted and reared individually in plastic
 boxes at an ambient temperature of 28.6 °C for 72 days. A controlled
 amount of food (an equal mixture of pellets for rats and guinea pigs) was
 provided twice a week (every 4th and 3rd day). Each cricket was exposed to
 one of two different treatments; 1) moderate food restriction or 2) strong
 food restriction, see the table below. At each feeding occasion, the
 weight of the cricket and remaining food and faecal material were
 measured. Sex and age at imago emergence was recorded for each individual.
 At some occasions, faeces were separated from remaining food and weighted
 separately (in order to estimate relative egestion rate). See the related
 manuscript for a detailed description of the experimental setup. |
 **Treatment** | **Food supply at day 1 \[mg]** | **Food supply at day 4
 \[mg]** | Resulting average food supply \[mg/day] | **Number of male
 replicates** | **Number of female replicates** | |
 :------------------------ | :----------------------------- |
 :----------------------------- | :-------------------------------------- |
 :---------------------------- | :------------------------------ | |
 Moderate food restriction | 90 | 120 | 30 | 25 | 16 | | Strong food
 restriction | 15 | 20 | 5 | 21 | 19 | ### **Data files and structure** |
 **Data file** | **Content** | | :---------------- |
 :-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | GrowthDataMFR.csv | Data for individually reared house crickets under Moderate Food Restriction (MFR) | | GrowthDataSFR.csv | Data for individually reared house crickets under Strong Food Restriction (SFR) | In both these files the data is structured as a table with 9 columns: 1.       **Individual**: Identification number specific to each individual cricket 2.       **Time**: Time elapsed since hatching (= age of cricket) [days] 3.       **State**: Developmental state of cricket (J/A). J = Juvenile. A = Adult. 4.       **Sex**: Sex of cricket (M/F). M = Male. F = Female. 5.       **BodyWeight**: Individual body weight [mg] 6.       **WFD0**: Dry weight of provided food [mg] 7.       **W1**: Wet weight of remaining food and faecal [mg] 8.       **Egestion**: Measured weight of produced faecal [mg] 9.       **Ingestion**: Estimated ingestion of food [mg] Cells for WFD0, W1 and Ingestion that contain “null” indicate that there is no relevant value. Cells for Egestion that contain “null” indicate that no measurement was performed. See the related manuscript for the calculation of ingestion, based on provided food and remaining material with compensation for moisture uptake in food and produced faecal. ## **Data for cohorts of house crickets** Newly hatched nymphs of house crickets (*Acheta domesticus*) were collected, weighted and reared in cohorts, with either of five different starting densities, at a temperature of 30.5 °C. A fixed amount of food (an equal mixture of pellets for rats and guinea pigs) was provided at regular time intervals (1200 mg each week). The initial number of individuals in each cohort varied according to the table below. Surviving individuals were regularly counted and weighed. The data were collected prior to this study and parts of it have previously been analysed and presented in a publication on animal self-thinning (Jonsson 2017). See this and current manuscript for more details of the experimental setup. | **Starting density** | **5** | **10** | **20** | **40** | **80** | | :-------------------- | :---- | :----- | :----- | :----- | :----- | | **Number of cohorts** | 30 | 18 | 12 | 6 | 5 | The average mass of all individuals in a cohort was calculated and used as juvenile growth data for both sexes. When the sex could be identified for at least some individuals, sex-specific average masses were calculated based on these and used to represent the cohort (though individuals that could not be identified by sex were excluded). Sex-specific average growth data were thereby obtained for each cohort. **Reference** Jonsson T (2017) Metabolic theory predicts animal self-thinning. *Journal of Animal Ecology* **86**:645-653. ### **Data files and structure** | **Data file** | **Content** | | :---------------- | :------------------------------------------------------------ | | GrowthDataC5.csv | Average growth data for cohorts with starting density N0 = 5 | | GrowthDataC10.csv | Average growth data for cohorts with starting density N0 = 10 | | GrowthDataC20.csv | Average growth data for cohorts with starting density N0 = 20 | | GrowthDataC40.csv | Average growth data for cohorts with starting density N0 = 40 | | GrowthDataC80.csv | Average growth data for cohorts with starting density N0 = 80 |  In these five files the data is structured as a table with 6 columns: 1.       **Cohort**: Identification number for cohort 2.       **Time**: Time elapsed since hatching [days] 3.       **W**: Average body mass for all individuals in cohort [mg] 4.       **WM**: Average body mass for males in cohort [mg] 5.       **WF**: Average body mass for females in cohort [mg] 6.       **Density**: Number of individuals in cohort Cells for WM and WF containing “null” indicate that no value is available (current sex not yet identified in any individual). | **Data file** | **Content** | | :-------------------- | :----------------------------------------------------------------------- | | MaturationDataC5.csv | Maturation data for individuals in cohorts with starting density N0 = 5 | | MaturationDataC10.csv | Maturation data for individuals in cohorts with starting density N0 = 10 | | MaturationDataC20.csv | Maturation data for individuals in cohorts with starting density N0 = 20 | | MaturationDataC40.csv | Maturation data for individuals in cohorts with starting density N0 = 40 | | MaturationDataC80.csv | Maturation data for individuals in cohorts with starting density N0 = 80 | In these five files the data is structured as a table with 5 columns: 1.      **Cohort**: Identification number for cohort 2.      **Individual**: Identification number for individual 3.      **Sex**: Sex of cricket (M/F). M = Male. F = Female 4.      **W_mat**: Weight at maturation [mg] 5.      **t_mat**: Age at maturation [days]