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., Samples of workers, gynes and males were collected from field colonies that were part of a long-term study of reproductive allocation. DNA was extracted and samples were genotyped using four highly polymorphic microsatellite loci.  The genotype of the colony's sole queen was determined, and compared between samples taken at different time points. If sample genotypes were identical, the colony identity was assumed to be maintained., , # Data for ant queen lifespan in the field

[https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.xwdbrv1r4](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.xwdbrv1r4)

#### Description of the data and file structure

We collected worker samples for genetic analysis from all colonies in the reproductive allocation study in 2001, and again in 2021 from those colonies that were still alive. We had earlier worker samples (from 1999 and 2000), as well as samples of gynes (from 2003 and 2004) from some colonies that had been genotyped to measure differences in the distribution of genotypes over time. Samples from 2005 and 2006 were part of a study on the temporal pattern of foraging. For a few colonies, we had samples of males (from 1996 and 1997), which were genotyped as part of an unpublished study on diploid males. Many of the colonies were used in controlled mating experiments as sources of either gynes or males (in 2010, 2013-2015.

### Files and variables

#### File: 1996-97\_Male\_Genotypes.txt

**Description:**  The gen...,