Data from: Personality composition alters the transmission of cuticular bacteria in social groups

The initial stages of a disease outbreak can determine the magnitude of an
epidemic. Though rarely tested in unison, two factors with important
consequences for the infectious transmission dynamics are the traits of
the susceptible population and the traits of the index case (i.e.,
“patient zero”). Here, we test whether the behavioural composition of a
social group can explain horizontal transmission dynamics of cuticular
bacteria using a social spider. We exposed focal spiders of known
behavioural types with a GFP-transformed cuticular bacterium (Pantoea sp.)
and placed them in groups of 10 susceptible individuals. We measured
bacterial transmission to susceptible spiders composed of either all shy
spiders, 10% bold spiders, or 40% bold spiders. We found that colonies
with 40% bold spiders experienced over twice the incidence of transmission
compared to colonies with just 10% bold individuals after only 24hr of
interaction. Colonies of all shy spiders experienced an intermediate
degree of transmission. Interestingly, we did not detect an effect of the
traits of the index case on transmission. These data suggest that the
phenotypic composition of the susceptible population can have a greater
influence on the degree of early transmission events than the traits of
the index case.