Experimental treatments and survival of transplanted harvester ant colonies

In sessile organisms such as plants and benthic invertebrates, founding propagules typically suffer extremely high rates of mortality due to both extrinsic and intrinsic factors.  Many social insect species share similarities with these groups, but factors influencing early colony survival are relatively unstudied.  

We used a field experiment to measure the importance of environmental quality relative to intrinsic colony properties in the harvester ant, Pogonomyrmex occidentalis, by monitoring the survival of 584 experimental colonies. Colony survival was primarily determined by intrinsic factors. Multiple mating by the queen and larger colony size at the time of transplant increased survival, but queen size, maternal lineage and the composition of plant species in the vicinity of the colony did not. Food supplementation increased survival significantly when natural food was scarce, but was not consistently beneficial, in contrast to predictions. 

Our results emphasize the genera...

对于植物、底栖无脊椎动物（benthic invertebrates）等固着生物（sessile organisms）而言，其初始繁殖体（propagules）通常因外在与内在双重因素，面临极高的死亡率。诸多社会性昆虫类群与这类生物存在相似特征，但目前针对影响其蜂群早期存活的相关因素的研究仍相对匮乏。

本研究以西方收获蚁（Pogonomyrmex occidentalis）为研究对象，通过野外实验（field experiment）监测584个实验蜂群的存活情况，以此评估环境质量相对于蜂群内在特性的重要性。研究发现，蜂群存活主要由内在因素决定：蚁后多次交配以及移植时更大的蜂群规模可提升存活率，但蚁后体型、母系谱系（maternal lineage）以及蜂群周边植物物种组成则无显著影响。当天然食物匮乏时，食物补给（food supplementation）可显著提升存活率，但与预期相悖的是，该措施并未持续带来益处。

本研究结果着重强调了该属类群（genera）...