Social network and fitness data from age-structured populations of forked fungus beetles

We investigated the relationships between age, social behavior, and fitness at three levels of organization: the individual, the local social environment, and the population. Replicate groups of forked fungus beetles (Bolitotherus cornutus) were engineered to have either young- or old- biased age structures, and both social and reproductive behaviors were recorded.

本研究旨在探究年龄、社会行为与适合度（fitness）在三个组织层级间的关联，这三个层级分别为个体层级、局部社会环境层级以及种群层级。研究人员构建了多组重复的叉角真菌甲虫（Bolitotherus cornutus）实验种群，使其分别呈现年轻个体占优或老龄个体占优的年龄结构，并对其社会行为与繁殖行为进行了记录。