Data from: Temperature influences lipid content in the red harvester ant, Pogonomyrmex barbatus

Data files for manuscript titled "Temperature influences lipid content in the red harvester ant, Pogonomyrmex barbatus".
Excel file with 3 tabs: Metadata, Monthly Lipid Content, and 10 Day Lipid Content. Metadata is contained within Excel file that describes all variables for each tab.
Abstract from paper:
Temperature is one of the most important environmental conditions affecting physiological processes in ectothermic organisms like ants. Yet we often lack information on how certain physiological traits co-vary with temperature across time. Here, we test predictions on how one trait—lipid content—co-varies with temperature using a conspicuous, ground-dwelling harvester ant. We focus on lipid content as fat bodies are metabolically active tissues that are important for storing and releasing energy in response to demand, which could be vital for survival under variable temperatures. From March to November, we extracted lipids from surface workers of 14 colonies while simultaneously recording ground temperature. We first assessed if lipid content was highest during cooler temperatures when ants were less active and less metabolically stressed. In doing so, we found that lipid content of ants declined almost 70% from cool months (November lipid content = 14.6%) to hot months (August lipid content = 4.6%). We next assessed if lipid levels from a group of ants collected at a single time point could change by placing individuals into environmental chambers set at 10, 20, and 30°C (i.e. the approximate span of average temperatures from March to November). Temperature again had a significant impact such that after 10 days, lipid content of ants in the hottest chamber (30°C) had decreased more than 75%. While intraspecific variation in physiological traits often follows seasonal patterns, our results suggest fluctuations in temperature may account for a portion of the variance observed in traits like lipid content.

题为《温度对红收获蚁（Pogonomyrmex barbatus）脂质含量的影响》的手稿配套数据文件。
该文件为Excel格式，包含3个工作表：元数据（Metadata）、月度脂质含量、10天脂质含量。元数据存储于本Excel文件内，用于说明各工作表的全部变量信息。
论文摘要如下：
温度是影响蚂蚁等外温动物（ectothermic organisms）生理过程的关键环境条件之一，但目前我们对部分生理性状如何随时间与温度协同变化的认知仍存在缺口。本研究以一种常见的地表栖息收获蚁为研究对象，检验了脂质含量这一性状随温度变化的相关预测。我们选择脂质含量作为研究指标，是因为脂肪体属于代谢活跃组织，可根据生理需求储存与释放能量，这对可变温度环境下的物种生存至关重要。研究时段为3月至11月，我们从14个蚁群的地表工蚁中提取脂质，并同步记录地表温度。首先，我们评估了脂质含量是否在蚂蚁活动更少、代谢压力更低的低温环境中达到峰值。结果显示，蚂蚁的脂质含量从凉爽月份（11月脂质占比为14.6%）至炎热月份（8月脂质占比为4.6%）下降了近70%。随后，我们通过将单次采集的蚁群个体置于设置为10℃、20℃和30℃的环境箱（environmental chambers）中（对应3月至11月的平均温度区间），评估了脂质水平是否会发生变化。结果再次证实温度具有显著影响：10天后，处于最高温环境箱（30℃）中的蚂蚁脂质含量下降幅度超过75%。尽管生理性状的种内变异通常呈现季节性模式，但本研究结果表明，温度波动可能是脂质含量这类性状观测变异的部分成因。