10.5061/DRYAD.5BN554H
Bengston, Sarah E.
Rice University
Data from: Life-history and behavioral trait covariation across 3 years in
Temnothorax ants
Dryad
dataset
2018
Temnothorax rugatulus
social insects
Life History Evolution
risk-tolerance
National Science Foundation
https://ror.org/021nxhr62
DBI-1523923
2018-06-29T13:56:01Z
2018-06-29T13:56:01Z
en
https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/ary101
17040 bytes
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CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication
Consistent among- individual differences in behavior have been described
in numerous taxa. More recently, the hypothesis that such behavioral
variation may also correlate to life-history traits, such as investment in
current or future reproduction, has been proposed as a potential
explanation for why variation is maintained among and within populations.
A continual challenge in measuring the integration of these traits, or the
Pace – of – Life Syndrome, is to find a reliable and quantifiable proxy
for energy allocation between reproduction and self-maintenance. Here, I
address this challenge using the eusocial insects, Temnothorax ants, in a
common garden experiment to directly quantify energy allocation by
tracking the number of sterile workers (somatic effort) and winged
reproductive ants (reproductive effort) produced across years. I use
colonies collected from populations previously demonstrated to show
significant differences in a risk-tolerance behavioral syndrome. I provide
an empirical test of the Pace – Of – Life Syndrome hypothesis between two
populations of Temnothorax ants over three years. I find strong evidence
for a Pace – Of – Life Syndrome between populations and weaker, but
present support for a within population POLS. More risk-tolerant
populations also allocate more energy towards reproduction and grow faster
across years. This study then emphasizes the value of a more holistic
study of among-individual variation. Additionally, it suggests more
research is needed on understanding how and why traits may correlate in
some populations, but remain independent in others.
compiled_POLS_3yr