Myrmecia sample locations and microsatellite data

Geographic location and microsatellite data for 20 sampled colonies (23 nests) from Qian Z, Schlüns H, Schlick-Steiner BC, Steiner FM, Robson SKA, Schlüns EA, Crozier RH (2011) Intraspecific support for the polygyny-vs.-polyandry hypothesis in the bulldog ant Myrmecia brevinoda.
Abstract [Related Publication]: The number of queens per colony and the number of matings per queen are the most important determinants of the genetic structure of ant colonies, and understanding their interrelationship is essential to the study of social evolution. The polygyny-versus-polyandry hypothesis argues that polygyny and polyandry should be negatively associated since both can result in increased intracolonial genetic variability and have costs. However, evidence for this long-debated hypothesis has been lacking at the intraspecific level. Here, we investigated the colony genetic structure in the Australian bulldog ant Myrmecia brevinoda. The numbers of queens per colony varied from 1 to 6. Nestmate queens within polygynous colonies were on average related (rqq = 0.171±0.019), but the overall relatedness between queens and their mates was indistinguishable from zero (rqm = 0.037±0.030). Queens were inferred to mate with 1 to 10 males. A lack of genetic isolation by distance among nests indicated the prevalence of independent colony foundation. In accordance with the polygyny-versus-polyandry hypothesis, the number of queens per colony was significantly negatively associated with the estimated number of matings (Spearman rank correlation R = -0.490, P = 0.028). This study thus provides rare intraspecific evidence for the polygyny-versus-polyandry hypothesis. We suggest that high costs of multiple matings and the strong effect of multiple mating on intracolonial genetic diversity may be essential to the negative association between polygyny and polyandry, and that any attempt to empirically test this hypothesis should place emphasis upon these two key underlying aspects.
The full methodology is available in the publication shown in the Related Publications link below.

20个采样群体（23个巢）的地理位置及微卫星数据，来源于Qian Z, Schlüns H, Schlick-Steiner BC, Steiner FM, Robson SKA, Schlüns EA, Crozier RH（2011）发表的《短结牛蚁*Myrmecia brevinoda*中多雌制-多雄制假说（polygyny-versus-polyandry hypothesis）的种内证据支持》。
摘要 [相关出版物]：每个蚁群的蚁后数量及每个蚁后交配次数是决定蚁群遗传结构的最重要因素，理解二者的相互关系对于社会演化研究至关重要。多雌制-多雄制假说（polygyny-versus-polyandry hypothesis）认为，多雌制（polygyny）与多雄制（polyandry）应呈负相关，因为二者均可提高巢内遗传变异性且具有成本。然而，这一长期存在争议的假说在种内水平上缺乏证据支持。本研究对澳大利亚斗牛犬蚁*Myrmecia brevinoda*的蚁群遗传结构进行了调查。每个蚁群的蚁后数量为1至6只不等。多雌蚁群中同巢蚁后的平均亲缘关系系数为rqq=0.171±0.019，但蚁后与其配偶间的总体亲缘关系系数与零无显著差异（rqm=0.037±0.030）。推测蚁后与1至10只雄蚁交配。巢间不存在距离隔离的遗传模式，表明独立建巢现象较为普遍。与多雌制-多雄制假说一致，每个蚁群的蚁后数量与估计的交配次数呈显著负相关（斯皮尔曼等级相关R=-0.490，P=0.028）。本研究因此为多雌制-多雄制假说提供了罕见的种内证据。我们认为，多次交配的高成本以及多次交配对巢内遗传多样性的强烈影响，可能是多雌制（polygyny）与多雄制（polyandry）间负相关关系的关键因素；任何试图对该假说进行实证检验的研究均应重点关注这两个核心潜在方面。
完整方法学详见下方相关出版物链接中的文献。