Data from: Experimental evidence that intruder and group member attributes affect outgroup defence and associated within-group interactions in a social fish

In many social species, individuals communally defend resources from
conspecific outsiders. Participation in defence and in associated
within-group interactions, both during and after contests with outgroup
rivals, is expected to vary between group members because the threat
presented by different outsiders is not the same to each individual.
However, experimental tests examining both the contributions to, and the
consequences of, outgroup conflict for all group members are lacking.
Using groups of the cichlid Neolamprologus pulcher, we simulated
territorial intrusions by different-sized female rivals and altered the
potential contribution of subordinate females to defence. Dominant and
subordinate females defended significantly more against size- and
rank-matched intruders, while males displayed lower and less variable
levels of defence. Large and small, but not intermediate-sized, intruders
induced increased levels of within-group aggression during intrusions,
which was targeted at the subordinate females. Preventing subordinate
females from helping in territorial defence led to significant decreases
in post-contest within-group and female-specific submissive and
affiliative displays. Together, these results show that the defensive
contributions of group members vary greatly depending both on their own
traits and on intruder identity, and this variation has significant
consequences for within-group social dynamics both during and in the
aftermath of outgroup contests.