Data from: Pace-of-life in a social insect: behavioral syndromes in ants shift along a climatic gradient

Behavioral syndromes are correlations between behavioral traits, but their selective advantage under different environmental conditions is not well understood. Here, we used the pace-of-life hypothesis to predict how behavioral syndromes could vary along climatic gradients. This hypothesis states that populations experiencing different ecological conditions should differ in suites of physiological characteristics associated with behavioral and life-history traits. We examined the persistence of behavioral syndromes at multiple levels in the ant Temnothorax longispinosus along a climatic gradient in north-eastern USA. “Across populations”, we predicted that proactive phenotypes, which show higher activity, aggression and exploration, are more likely to persist in warmer climates. “Within populations”, we expected positive associations among proactive behaviors to be more pronounced at warmer sites. Additionally, we measured colony productivity to test whether deviation from the population-level syndrome influences their success, and whether such deviations could vary among populations. Behavioral syndromes clearly occurred across populations, with colonies from warmer environments exhibiting more exploration and foraging but slightly less aggressiveness than colonies from colder sites. However, the presence of behavioral syndromes within sites was population-specific. Positive associations between foraging, exploration and aggression, albeit rarely found, were more pronounced at the warmest sites, whereas negative associations were more common at colder sites. Furthermore, colonies from colder environments showed higher syndrome deviations than colonies from warmer environments, which may be linked to resource limitation and may also negatively affect colony productivity. This study partially corroborates the pace-of-life hypothesis and yields insights into the adaptive value of behavioral syndromes along climatic gradients.

行为综合征（behavioral syndromes）指不同行为性状间的相关性，但目前学界对其在不同环境条件下的选择优势仍缺乏充分认知。本研究借助生命节奏假说（pace-of-life hypothesis），预测行为综合征如何沿气候梯度发生变化。该假说提出，处于不同生态条件下的种群，其与行为及生活史性状相关的一系列生理特征应存在差异。我们以美国东北部气候梯度上的蚁类Temnothorax longispinosus为研究对象，探究了其多层级下行为综合征的存续情况。

在种群间层面，我们预测表现出更高活动力、攻击性与探索性的主动型表型，更易在温暖气候环境中存续。在种群内层面，我们预期温暖生境中主动型行为间的正向关联会更为显著。此外，我们测定了蚁群生产力，以检验偏离种群水平行为综合征的情况是否会影响蚁群生存成功率，以及这类偏离程度是否会因种群不同而存在差异。

种群间的行为综合征确实存在：相较于寒冷生境的蚁群，温暖生境的蚁群表现出更强的探索与觅食行为，但攻击性略低。但生境内行为综合征的存在具有种群特异性。尽管觅食、探索与攻击性之间的正向关联并不常见，但在最热的生境中这类关联更为显著；而寒冷生境中则更多出现负向关联。此外，寒冷生境的蚁群的行为综合征偏离程度高于温暖生境的蚁群，这可能与资源限制相关，且可能会对蚁群生产力产生负面影响。

本研究部分验证了生命节奏假说，并为理解行为综合征沿气候梯度的适应价值提供了新视角。