DOI: 10.5061/dryad.xwdbrv1r4
title: Data for ant queen lifespan in the field

description: Demographic studies of ant populations usually monitor nest site occupancy
 if a colony is present it is assumed to be the same colony as
 previously.  Little is known about the extent to which nest site
 occupancy is equivalent to colony identity, yet this knowledge is
 important for interpreting demographic data.  We combined
 long-term colony monitoring with periodic genotyping in 95 colonies of the
 western harvester ant Pogonomyrmex occidentalis to assess the degree to
 which continuous occupancy predicts colony identity.  We
 identified a single unsuspected turnover event in more than 1300
 queen-years of observation.  We also documented colony
 replacement in five nest sites that were continuously occupied, but which
 displayed abrupt size decreases and/or declines in external appearance.
  Including additional data in monitoring studies may improve the
 accuracy of colony lifespan estimates.
description: Samples of workers, gynes and males were collected from field
 colonies that were part of a long-term study of reproductive allocation.
 DNA was extracted and samples were genotyped using four highly polymorphic
 microsatellite loci.  The genotype of the colony's sole queen was
 determined, and compared between samples taken at different time points.
 If sample genotypes were identical, the colony identity was assumed to be
 maintained.
description: # Data for ant queen lifespan in the field
 [https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.xwdbrv1r4](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.xwdbrv1r4) #### Description of the data and file structure We collected worker samples for genetic analysis from all colonies in the reproductive allocation study in 2001, and again in 2021 from those colonies that were still alive. We had earlier worker samples (from 1999 and 2000), as well as samples of gynes (from 2003 and 2004) from some colonies that had been genotyped to measure differences in the distribution of genotypes over time. Samples from 2005 and 2006 were part of a study on the temporal pattern of foraging. For a few colonies, we had samples of males (from 1996 and 1997), which were genotyped as part of an unpublished study on diploid males. Many of the colonies were used in controlled mating experiments as sources of either gynes or males (in 2010, 2013-2015. ### Files and variables #### File: 1996-97\_Male\_Genotypes.txt **Description:**  The genotypes of male samples for some colonies (males are haploid). We used four microsatellite loci: P08, P07, P01, and P03, each of which has a short (S) and a long (L) allele based on fragment length (in homozygotes, these are the same). Missing data were left blank. Supplemental Table 1, which accompanies the paper, gives the dates of initial and final samples for each colony. ##### Variables * Year: Year the sample was collected. * Colony: Source colony for the sample. * Male#: Individual sample number. The inferred queen genotype is indicated by Q. * P08: Genotype (fragment length allele(s)) * P07: Genotype (fragment length allele(s)) * P01: Genotype (fragment length allele(s)) * P03: Genotype (fragment length allele(s)) #### File: 1999-2021\_Worker\_Genotypes.txt **Description:**  The microsatellite genotypes for the worker samples used in this study. We used four microsatellite loci: P08, P07, P01, and P03, each of which has a short (S) and a long (L) allele based on fragment length (in homozygotes, these are the same). Missing data were left blank. Supplemental Table 1, which accompanies the paper, gives the dates of initial and final samples for each colony. ##### Variables * Year: Year that the sample was collected. * Colony: Source colony for the sample. * Worker#: Individual sample number. The inferred queen genotype is indicated by Q. * P08S: Short fragment length allele * P08L: Long fragment length allele * P07S: Short fragment length allele * P07L: Long fragment length allele * P01S: Short fragment length allele * P01L: Long fragment length allele * P03S: Short fragment length allele * P03L: Long fragment length allele #### File: 2001\_Queen\_Genotypes.txt **Description:**  The genotypes for the queens of all colonies used in the study. We used four microsatellite loci: P08, P07, P01, and P03, each of which has a short (S) and a long (L) allele based on fragment length (in homozygotes, these are the same). Missing data were left blank. Supplemental Table 1, which accompanies the paper, gives the dates of initial and final samples for each colony. ##### Variables * Colony: Source colony for the sample. * P08S: Short fragment length allele * P08L: Long fragment length allele * P07S: Short fragment length allele * P07L: Long fragment length allele * P01S: Short fragment length allele * P01L: Long fragment length allele * P03S: Short fragment length allele * P03L: Long fragment length allele #### File: 2010-2015\_Daughter\_Colonies.txt **Description:**  The relevant genetic data for these samples are the genotypes of the daughter queens, which are listed as the last row of the samples (Q). We attempted to provide two daughter colonies to validate each study colony, but this was not always possible. Three of the colonies in this file (F041, F049, F071) were used as male sources. For F049 and F71, the relevant genotypes are the patrilines of some workers, whose numbers are indicated by asterisks. Both experimental colonies that used F041 as a paternal source were singly mated, so all workers carry the relevant alleles. We used four microsatellite loci: P08, P07, P01, and P03, each of which has a short (S) and a long (L) allele based on fragment length (in homozygotes, these are the same). Missing data were left blank. Supplemental Table 1, which accompanies the paper, gives the dates of initial and final samples for each colony. ##### Variables * Year: The Year that the colony was produced through controlled mating. * Colony: The maternal source of the colony queen. * Transpl: The experimental colony number. * Worker#: Individual sample number. The inferred queen genotype is indicated by Q. Individuals who are relevant when the colony was used as a male source are indicated with an asterisk. * P08S: Short fragment length allele * P08L: Long fragment length allele * P07S: Short fragment length allele * P07L: Long fragment length allele * P01S: Short fragment length allele * P01L: Long fragment length allele * P03S: Short fragment length allele * P03L: Long fragment length allele #### File: Turnover\_Colonies.txt **Description:**  The five colonies that we suspected of changing queen identity (F059-F161) and the colony that underwent cryptic turnover (F307). We used four microsatellite loci: P08, P07, P01, and P03, each of which has a short (S) and a long (L) allele based on fragment length (in homozygotes, these are the same). Missing data were left blank. Supplemental Table 1, which accompanies the paper, gives the dates of initial and final samples for each colony. ##### Variables * Year: Year that the sample was collected. * Colony: Source colony for the sample. * Worker#: Individual sample number. The inferred queen genotype is indicated by Q. * P08S: Short fragment length allele * P08L: Long fragment length allele * P07S: Short fragment length allele * P07L: Long fragment length allele * P01S: Short fragment length allele * P01L: Long fragment length allele * P03S: Short fragment length allele * P03L: Long fragment length allele