Data for ant queen lifespan in the field

Demographic studies of ant populations usually monitor nest site occupancy
if a colony is present it is assumed to be the same colony as
previously.  Little is known about the extent to which nest site
occupancy is equivalent to colony identity, yet this knowledge is
important for interpreting demographic data.  We combined
long-term colony monitoring with periodic genotyping in 95 colonies of the
western harvester ant Pogonomyrmex occidentalis to assess the degree to
which continuous occupancy predicts colony identity.  We
identified a single unsuspected turnover event in more than 1300
queen-years of observation.  We also documented colony
replacement in five nest sites that were continuously occupied, but which
displayed abrupt size decreases and/or declines in external appearance.
 Including additional data in monitoring studies may improve the
accuracy of colony lifespan estimates.