DOI: 10.5061/dryad.9zw3r22rt
title: Data from: Insights into the population genetics of an extreme habitat specialist, the wood ant commensal Formicoxenus nitidulus

description: Habitat specialists, particularly those that are poor dispersers, are
 highly susceptible to population isolation as a result of habitat
 fragmentation. Population isolation can lead to inbreeding, resulting in
 reduced genetic diversity and an increased risk of local
 extinction. The shining guest ant, Formicoxenus
 nitidulus, lives only within the nests of its wood ant hosts. It is thus
 an extreme habitat specialist, dependent on patchy nesting sites within an
 already fragmented woodland habitat. We aimed to generate the first data
 on the population genetics of this species, to characterize its genetic
 diversity and degree of population isolation. We developed eight
 novel nuclear microsatellite markers and generated mitochondrial DNA
 sequence data of the COI region to characterize samples from seven
 UK F. nitidulus populations collected from nests of three wood
 ant hosts: Formica aquilonia, Formica lugubris, and Formica rufa. These
 novel nuclear microsatellite markers can be used in future studies of this
 species across a wider geographic range and may have utility in other
 closely related species. We found clear differentiation between
 Scottish and English F. nitidulus populations. The six largest
 study populations were genetically diverse, showing signs of effective
 within-site dispersal. Our data show that wood ant nests often host
 multiple F. nitidulus colonies. We found that genetic diversity
 has been maintained in this extreme habitat specialist at risk of
 population isolation. We also demonstrate that a single wood ant host nest
 can have high conservation importance for the multiple F.
 nitidulus colonies it supports.
description: # Insights into the population genetics of an extreme habitat specialist,
 the wood ant commensal Formicoxenus nitidulus
 [https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.9zw3r22rt](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.9zw3r22rt) ## Description of the data and file structure Male Shining Guest Ant (Formicoxenus nititulus) specimens were collected from the surface of host wood ants (Formica rufa, Formica aquilonia, or Formica lugubris) at 7 sites across the UK in 2020-2021. ### Files and variables #### File: genotype\_data.csv **Description:** Microsatellite data for *Formicoxenus nitidulus* collected from wood ant host nests ##### Variables * id: Specimen ID * loc13: Microsatellite locus 13 * loc14: Microsatellite locus 14 * loc35: Microsatellite locus 35 * loc45: Microsatellite locus 45 * loc48: Microsatellite locus 48 * loc53: Microsatellite locus 53 * loc54: Microsatellite locus 54 * loc58: Microsatellite locus 58 * site: Site of collection: AB= Abernethy, Scotland; AV = Aviemore, Scotland; BX = Broxa, England; CF = Cropton Forest, England; FB = Feshiebridge, Scotland; GB = Gaitbarrows, England; LS = Longshaw, England * nest: ID of host nest #### File: ant\_ids\_and\_locs.csv **Description:** Sampling location data for *Formicoxenus nitidulus* collected from wood ant host nests ##### Variables * Ant ID: Specimen ID for cross-matching to genotype_data.csv * Population number: Numerical code for site, used in analyses. 1 = Aviemore, Scotland; 2 = Broxa, England; 3 = Cropton Forest, England; 4 = Feshiebridge, Scotland; 5 = Gaitbarrows, England; 6 = Longshaw, England; 7= Abernethy, Scotland; * Site ID: Two letter code for site of collection: AB= Abernethy, Scotland; AV = Aviemore, Scotland; BX = Broxa, England; CF = Cropton Forest, England; FB = Feshiebridge, Scotland; GB = Gaitbarrows, England; LS = Longshaw, England * Site name: Name of site of collection * Nest ID: ID of host nest for cross-matching to genotype_data.csv * Host species: Species of wood ant inhabiting host nest * Longitude: Longitude of host nest, recorded to 8m accuracy, here rounded to 0.1 degrees (see Note 1) * Latitude: Latitude of host nest, recorded to 8m accuracy, here rounded to 0.1 degrees (see Note 1) Note 1: As *Formicoxenus nitidulus* is considered Vulnerable by the IUCN, Dryad policy requires that these location data are presented rounded to 0.1 degrees. The high resolution location dataset is available from the corresponding author on request (Elva Robinson: [elva.robinson@york.ac.uk](mailto:elva.robinson@york.ac.uk)). ## Code/software Code is available at: [https://github.com/uoy-research/guest-ant-population-genetics](https://github.com/uoy-research/guest-ant-population-genetics) ## Access information Other publicly accessible locations of the data: * [https://github.com/uoy-research/guest-ant-population-genetics](https://github.com/uoy-research/guest-ant-population-genetics)