Field measurements performed on Staghorn fern colonies (Platycerium bifurcatum)

This study explores the relationship observed between ‘guests’ – foreign inhabitants of social colonies – and the density and fecundity of eusocial-like staghorn ferns (Platycerium bifurcatum, Polypodiaceae). Our observations suggest that guests in staghorn colonies have a range of commensal and negative relationships, paralleling those seen in eusocial animal species., The genus Platycerium comprises 18 epiphytic species with a pantropical distribution (Kreier & Schneider, 2006). The ‘common staghorn fern’ (P. bifurcatum) occurs on the Sunda Islands, Eastern Australia, Lord Howe Island and New Guinea (Hoshizaki, 1972; Kreier & Schneider, 2006). Our research focused on staghorn ferns occurring in Lord Howe Island (LHI), a volcanic island of <15 km2 in area (31°33'S, 159°05'E), located app. 500 km east of Australia in the Tasman Sea. Although the island supports a diverse range of habitats (Harris et al., 2005), lowland areas are dominated by stunted tropical dry forest, where P. bifurcatum colonies are located within arm’s reach (Dawes et al., 2020).
To investigate the frequency and diversity of ‘guests’ in staghorn colonies, we inspected all colonies located within a 5-meter distance on either side of three narrow tracks winding through the island’s tropical dry forest (total track length approximately 5 km; Figure S1). Morphological differ..., , # Guests in Nests, dataset

#### Dataset Overview

This dataset encompasses observations from a field study conducted on Lord Howe Island, focusing on the interactions between various guest species and staghorn ferns (Platycerium bifurcatum), an epiphytic plant. The study explores the influence of guest species on the density and fecundity of staghorn colonies, which may exhibit features similar to eusociality in animals.

#### Data Structure and Contents

The dataset comprises 172 observations of staghorn fern colonies, collected along predefined tracks through the island's dry forest. Each entry includes the following parameters for each colony:

1. **Track Status (on/off)**: Indicates whether the colony was observed directly on the predefined track or off the track.
2. **Guest Type**: Specifies the type of guest species found within the colony, including native ferns and orchids.
3. **Number of Individuals (#ind)**: The total count of individual ferns within the colony.
4. **Volume (...