Identifying the boundaries of a social insect colony is vital for properly understanding its ecological function and evolution. Many species of ants are polydomous: colonies inhabit multiple, spatially separated, nests. Ascertaining which nests are parts of the same colony is an important consideration when studying polydomous populations. In this paper, we review the methods that are used to identify which nests are parts of the same polydomous colony and to determine the boundaries of colonies. Specifically, we define and discuss three broad categories of approach: identifying nests sharing resources, identifying nests sharing space, and identifying nests sharing genes. For each of these approaches, we review the theoretical basis, the limitations of the approach and the methods that can be used to implement it. We argue that all three broad approaches have merits and weaknesses, and provide a methodological comparison to help researchers select the tool appropriate for the biological question they are investigating.

中文翻译：

---

推断一夫多妻制：识别群体边界的功能、空间和遗传方法综述


确定社会性昆虫群体的边界对于正确理解其生态功能和进化至关重要。许多种类的蚂蚁都是多居的：蚁群居住在多个空间上分离的巢穴中。在研究多群种群时，确定哪些巢穴属于同一群体是一个重要的考虑因素。在本文中，我们回顾了用于识别哪些巢属于同一多群群体的一部分以及确定群体边界的方法。具体来说，我们定义并讨论了三大类方法：识别共享资源的巢穴、识别共享空间的巢穴和识别共享基因的巢穴。对于每一种方法，我们都会回顾其理论基础、该方法的局限性以及可用于实现该方法的方法。我们认为，这三种主要方法都有优点和缺点，并提供方法学比较，以帮助研究人员选择适合他们正在研究的生物学问题的工具。