The economic strategies of superorganisms - data and code

Ecological strategy schemes are a unifying concept in plant trait research, explaining significant variation in global trait-climate patterns. Applying these concepts to other taxonomic groups could progress the field towards a general theory of ecological trait-strategy dimensions. Social insects, as central placed, colonial invertebrates, provide a parallel to test ecological strategy theory across animal and plant kingdoms. Workers are analogous to leaves - responsible for energy and resource acquisition. Here, we explore whether the leaf economic spectrum, which places leaves on a spectrum from slow to fast return on investment of energy, mass, and nutrients, could be applied to ants. We gathered trait data on N and P levels, metabolic rate, mass density, and lifespan, which we hypothesise to capture a worker economic spectrum, from 123 ant species across a 1500 km climate and soil nutrient gradient in South-Eastern Australia. We used multi-response phylogenetic mixed models to examine trait covariation and trait-environment associations. More densely built and larger ants lived longer, had slower mass-specific metabolic rates, and high N:P ratios representing a strategy of high investment and slow resource return. On the other end of the spectrum, flimsy, small ants were short-lived, with higher mass-specific metabolic rates, and low N:P ratios representing a low investment, fast-paced strategy. Modulation of trait-trait relationships by climate and environment was moderate indicating that the full spectrum of economic strategies persists within all sites. Social insects and plants have tackled economic trade-offs in remarkably similar ways, supporting the generalisation of ecological strategy theory across kingdoms.

生态策略范式是植物性状研究领域的统一核心概念，可解释全球性状-气候格局的显著变异。将此类概念推广至其他生物分类类群，有望推动该领域构建生态性状策略维度的通用理论。作为中心觅食型群居无脊椎动物，社会性昆虫为跨动、植物界验证生态策略理论提供了平行研究体系。工蚁类比植物叶片，负责能量与资源的获取。本研究旨在探究：以能量、质量及养分的投资回报快慢为梯度的叶片经济谱（Leaf Economic Spectrum）能否推广应用至蚂蚁类群。我们从澳大利亚东南部1500km气候与土壤养分梯度范围内的123种蚂蚁中，收集了氮（N）、磷（P）含量、代谢速率、体密度及寿命等性状数据，并以此构建工蚁经济谱的假说指标。我们采用多响应系统发育混合模型，分析性状间的协变关系以及性状与环境的关联。研究结果显示：体躯更致密、体型更大的蚂蚁寿命更长，单位体质量代谢速率更低，且氮磷比（N:P）更高，代表高投入、慢资源回报的生态策略；而处于该谱系另一端的小型、体壁疏松的蚂蚁寿命更短，单位体质量代谢速率更高，氮磷比更低，对应低投入、快节奏的资源利用策略。气候与环境对性状间关系的调控作用中等，表明所有样地均保留了完整的经济策略谱系。社会性昆虫与植物以极为相似的方式解决了经济权衡问题，这支撑了生态策略理论可跨生物界推广的结论。