Data from: Be meek or be bold? A colony-level behavioural syndrome in ants

Consistent individual variation in animal behaviour is nearly ubiquitous and has important ecological and evolutionary implications. Additionally, suites of behavioural traits are often correlated, forming behavioural syndromes in both humans and other species. Such syndromes are often described by testing for variation in traits across commonly described dimensions (e.g. aggression and neophobia), independent of whether this variation is ecologically relevant to the focal species. Here, we use a variety of ecologically relevant behavioural traits to test for a colony-level behavioural syndrome in rock ants (Temnothorax rugatulus). Specifically, we combine field and laboratory assays to measure foraging effort, how colonies respond to different types of resources, activity level, response to threat and aggression level. We find evidence for a colony level syndrome that suggests colonies consistently differ in coping style—some are more risk-prone, whereas others are more risk-averse. Additionally, by collecting data across the North American range of this species, we show that environmental variation may affect how different populations maintain consistent variation in colony behaviour.

动物行为中的持续性个体差异近乎普遍存在，并具有重要的生态学与进化学意义。此外，多组行为性状往往存在相关性，进而在人类与其他物种中形成行为综合征（behavioural syndromes）。此类综合征的常规鉴定方式多通过检验常见行为维度下的性状变异（例如攻击性与新异恐惧症（neophobia）），而不考量该变异是否与目标物种的生态学需求相关。本研究采用多种与生态学相关的行为性状，对岩蚁（Temnothorax rugatulus）的群体水平行为综合征开展检验；具体而言，我们结合野外与实验室测定方法，量化了觅食强度、蚁群对不同资源类型的响应、活动水平、威胁响应以及攻击性水平。研究结果发现了群体水平行为综合征的相关证据，表明蚁群在应对风格上存在持续性差异：部分蚁群更具冒险倾向，而另一些则更为保守避险。此外，我们通过采集该物种北美分布范围内的种群数据，证实环境变异可能会影响不同种群维持蚁群行为持续性差异的方式。