Data from: Toxicity and utilization of chemical weapons: does toxicity and venom utilization contribute to the formation of species communities?

Toxicity and the utilization of venom are essential features in the
ecology of many animal species and have been hypothesized to be important
factors contributing to the assembly of communities through competitive
interactions. Ants of the genus Monomorium utilize a variety of venom
compositions, which have been reported to give them a competitive
advantage. Here, we investigate two pairs of Monomorium species, which
differ in the structural compositions of their venom and their
co-occurrence patterns with the invasive Argentine ant. We looked at the
effects of Monomorium venom toxicity, venom utilization, and aggressive
physical interactions on Monomorium and Argentine ant survival rates
during arena trials. The venom toxicity of the two species co-occurring
with the invasive Argentine ants was found to be significantly higher than
the toxicity of the two species which do not. There was no correlation
between venom toxicity and Monomorium survival; however, three of the four
Monomorium species displayed significant variability in their venom usage
which was associated with the number of Argentine ant workers encountered
during trials. Average Monomorium mortality varied significantly between
species, and in Monomorium smithii and Monomorium antipodum, aggressive
interactions with Argentine ants had a significant negative effect on
their mortality. Our study demonstrates that different factors and
strategies can contribute to the ability of a species to withstand the
pressure of a dominant invader at high abundance, and venom chemistry
appears to be only one of several strategies utilized.