Readme txt for the Dryad data package accompanying the manuscript "Experimental parasite community ecology: intraspecific variation in a large tapeworm affects community assembly". The file "Field_exp.csv" contains the data from the study's field experiment. Each row corresponds to a fish and explanations of the columns are listed below. Fish_ID: identifies fish individuals; a few fish could not be assigned to a treatment due to failed DNA matching and these are labeled "unassigned". Schisto_exposure: whether fish were exposed (1) or not exposed (0) to the tapeworm Schistocephalus solidus Schisto_pop: whether fish were exposed to the German (low-growth, LG) or the Norwegian (high-growth, HG) population of S. solidus Schisto_fam: which of the two tapeworm families within each population a fish was exposed to Cage: codes which of the six cages fish were placed into in the lake. Each cage contained fish from a different full-sib family, and the coding here corresponds to the 'Fish_family' column in the lab experiment data file, i.e. family 1 in the lab experiment was the same fish family that was in cage 1. Died_in_cage: fish either died (1) during the experiment or survived until the end (0). Schisto_infection: fish infected (1) or not infected (0) with S. solidus Plerocercoid_weight_mg: the weight in mg of the recovered plerocercoids of S. solidus Treatment: the four treatment groups compared, which were (i) control fish not exposed to S. solidus, (ii) fish exposed to but not infected with S. solidus, and fish infected with S. solidus from either the (iii) LG or (iv) HG S. solidus populations. Date_Schisto_exposure: date that fish were exposed to S.solidus Date_in_lake: date that fish were placed into cages in the lake Date_dissected: date that fish were dissected Age_at_dissection: days between exposure and dissection Fish_sex: whether experimental fish were male (M) or female (F) Initial_total_length_mm: total fish length in mm at the time of exposure to S.solidus Initial_std_length_mm: standard fish length (excludes caudal fin) in mm at the time of exposure to S.solidus Initial_weight_g: fish weight in g at the time of exposure to S.solidus Final_total_length_mm: total fish length in mm at the time of dissection Final_std_length_mm: standard fish length (excludes caudal fin) in mm at the time of dissection Final_weight_g: fish weight in g at the time dissection Final_weight_no_Schisto: fish weight excluding the weight of S.solidus plerocercoids HK_weight_mg: head kidney weight Spleen_weight_mg: spleen weight Liver_weight_mg: liver weight Gonad_weight_mg: gonad weight Irregular_Apatemon_Cysts: whether any metacercariae of the trematode Apatemon cobitidis appeared irregular and/or degraded (1 = yes, irregular, 0 = normal) The remaining columns encode the parasite community. Each column is a separate parasite species, and the values represent counts, except for Trichodina, which was measured on an ordinal scale. For more information see Table S1. Tr - Trichodina sp. Af - Argulus foliaceus Er - Ergasilus sp. Gy - Gyrodactylus sp. Gl - Glochidia Ac - Apatemon cobitidis Cp - Cyathocotyle prussica Dg - Diplostomum gasterostei Dp - Diplostomum pseudospathaceum s.l. Ec - Echinochasmus sp. Ph - Phyllodistomum folium Sg - Sphaerostomum globiporum Tc - Tylodelphys clavata Ju - Juvenile eyeflukes An - Anguillicola crassus Cl - Camallanus lacustris Co - Contracaecum sp. Ra - Raphidascaris acus Ps - Paradilepis scolecina Pf - Proteocephalus filicollis Vc - Valipora campylancristrota Any questions should be addressed to Dan Benesh (benesh@evolbio.mpg.de)