Data from: Social information from immigrants: multiple immigrant based sources of information for dispersal decisions in a ciliate

1. Dispersal is increasingly recognized as being an informed process, based on information organisms obtain about the landscape. While local conditions are often found to drive dispersal decisions, local context is not always a reliable predictor of conditions in neighbouring patches, making the use of local information potentially useless or even maladaptive. In this case, using social information gathered by immigrants might allow adjusting dispersal decisions without paying the costs of prospecting. However, this hypothesis has been largely neglected despite its major importance for ecological and evolutionary processes. 2. We investigated three fundamental questions about immigrant-informed dispersal: Do immigrants convey information that influences dispersal, do organisms use multiple cues from immigrants, and is immigrant-informed dispersal genotype dependent? 3. Using Tetrahymena thermophila ciliates in microcosms, we manipulated the number of immigrants arriving, the density of congeners, the resource quality in neighbouring patches, matrix characteristics and the level of cooperation of individuals in the neighbouring populations. 4. We provide the first experimental evidence that immigrants convey a number of different cues about neighbouring patches and matrix (patch quality, matrix characteristics and cooperation in neighbouring populations) in this relatively simple organism. Furthermore, we demonstrate genotype-dependent immigrant-informed dispersal decisions about patch quality and matrix characteristics. 5. Multiple cues from immigrants and genotype-dependent use of cues have major implications for theoretical metapopulation dynamics and the potential for local adaptation.1. 扩散过程日益被学界认定为受信息调控的过程，其核心依据是生物体获取的关于周边景观的信息。尽管局域环境常被发现会驱动扩散决策，但局域背景并不总能可靠预测邻域生境斑块的环境状况，这使得局域信息的利用可能失效，甚至产生适应不良的后果。在此情形下，利用迁入个体所携带的社会信息，或许能够在无需付出探查成本的前提下调整扩散决策。然而，尽管该假说对生态学与进化过程具有关键意义，却长期被大量忽视。 2. 本研究围绕迁入个体介导的扩散（immigrant-informed dispersal）提出了三个核心科学问题：迁入个体是否会传递能够影响扩散的信息？生物体是否会利用迁入个体释放的多种信号？迁入个体介导的扩散是否依赖于基因型？ 3. 本研究以微宇宙实验系统中的嗜热四膜虫（Tetrahymena thermophila）纤毛虫为研究对象，操控了迁入个体的数量、同种个体密度、邻域生境斑块的资源质量、基质特征以及邻域种群内个体的合作水平。 4. 本研究在这类相对简单的生物体中，首次通过实验证实，迁入个体能够传递关于邻域生境斑块与基质的多种不同信号（包括生境斑块质量、基质特征以及邻域种群内的合作水平）。此外，本研究还证明，针对生境斑块质量与基质特征的扩散决策，存在基因型依赖性的迁入个体介导的扩散模式。 5. 迁入个体释放的多种信号以及对信号的基因型依赖性利用，对理论集合种群（metapopulation）动力学以及局域适应的潜力具有重要的理论启示。