scholarly journals Climate warming and the potential extinction of fig wasps, the obligate pollinators of figs

2013 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 20130041 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nanthinee Jevanandam ◽  
Alexander G. R. Goh ◽  
Richard T. Corlett
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Adult Female ◽  
Climate Warming ◽  
Trophic Levels ◽  
Fig Wasp ◽  
Fig Wasps ◽  
Short Life ◽  
Adult Lifespan ◽  
Obligate Mutualism

Figs ( Ficus ) have a reciprocally obligate mutualism with tiny, short-lived (1–2 days) fig wasps (Agaonidae). The small size and short life of these pollinators is expected to make them more vulnerable to climate change than their larger and longer-lived hosts. We experimentally tested the thermal tolerances of four species of adult female fig wasp from equatorial Singapore. The results suggest that an increase of 3°C or more above the current temperatures experienced across much of the equatorial tropics would markedly decrease the active adult lifespan of all four species. Fig plants are the centre of an intricate web of specialist and generalist animals. Unless fig wasps can acclimate or adapt to warmer temperatures in time, these responses may disrupt the mutualism, potentially affecting multiple trophic levels.

scholarly journals Loss of top-down biotic interactions changes the relative benefits for obligate mutualists

2019 ◽  
Vol 286 (1897) ◽  
pp. 20182501 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rong Wang ◽  
Xiao-Yong Chen ◽  
Yan Chen ◽  
Gang Wang ◽  
Derek W. Dunn ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Biotic Interactions ◽  
Trophic Levels ◽  
Fig Wasp ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Top Predators ◽  
Natural Range ◽  
Obligate Mutualism ◽  
The Stability ◽  
Food Web Complexity

The collapse of mutualisms owing to anthropogenic changes is contributing to losses of biodiversity. Top predators can regulate biotic interactions between species at lower trophic levels and may contribute to the stability of such mutualisms, but they are particularly likely to be lost after disturbance of communities. We focused on the mutualism between the fig tree Ficus microcarpa and its host-specific pollinator fig wasp and compared the benefits accrued by the mutualists in natural and translocated areas of distribution. Parasitoids of the pollinator were rare or absent outside the natural range of the mutualists, where the relative benefits the mutualists gained from their interaction were changed significantly away from the plant's natural range owing to reduced seed production rather than increased numbers of pollinator offspring. Furthermore, in the absence of the negative effects of its parasitoids, we detected an oviposition range expansion by the pollinator, with the use of a wider range of ovules that could otherwise have generated seeds. Loss of top-down control has therefore resulted in a change in the balance of reciprocal benefits that underpins this obligate mutualism, emphasizing the value of maintaining food web complexity in the Anthropocene.

scholarly journals Long-term monitoring at multiple trophic levels suggests heterogeneity in responses to climate change in the Canadian Arctic tundra

2013 ◽  
Vol 368 (1624) ◽  
pp. 20120482 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gilles Gauthier ◽  
Joël Bêty ◽  
Marie-Christine Cadieux ◽  
Pierre Legagneux ◽  
Madeleine Doiron ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Primary Production ◽  
Climate Warming ◽  
Temporal Trends ◽  
Canadian Arctic ◽  
Trophic Levels ◽  
Food Plants ◽  
Laying Date ◽  
Snow Melt

Arctic wildlife is often presented as being highly at risk in the face of current climate warming. We use the long-term (up to 24 years) monitoring records available on Bylot Island in the Canadian Arctic to examine temporal trends in population attributes of several terrestrial vertebrates and in primary production. Despite a warming trend (e.g. cumulative annual thawing degree-days increased by 37% and snow-melt date advanced by 4–7 days over a 23-year period), we found little evidence for changes in the phenology, abundance or productivity of several vertebrate species (snow goose, foxes, lemmings, avian predators and one passerine). Only primary production showed a response to warming (annual above-ground biomass of wetland graminoids increased by 123% during this period). We nonetheless found evidence for potential mismatches between herbivores and their food plants in response to warming as snow geese adjusted their laying date by only 3.8 days on average for a change in snow-melt of 10 days, half of the corresponding adjustment shown by the timing of plant growth (7.1 days). We discuss several reasons (duration of time series, large annual variability, amplitude of observed climate change, nonlinear dynamic or constraints imposed by various rate of warming with latitude in migrants) to explain the lack of response by herbivores and predators to climate warming at our study site. We also show how length and intensity of monitoring could affect our ability to detect temporal trends and provide recommendations for future monitoring.

scholarly journals The unknown followers: Discovery of a new species of Sycobia Walker (Hymenoptera: Epichrysomallinae) associated with Ficus benjamina L. (Moraceae) in the Neotropical region

2018 ◽  
Vol 67 ◽  
pp. 85-102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fernando Henrique Antoniolli Farache ◽  
Cecilia Bernardo Pereira ◽  
Cristiana Koschnitzke ◽  
Levi Oliveira Barros ◽  
Elmecelli Moraes de Castro Souza ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Native Species ◽  
Ornamental Plants ◽  
Neotropical Region ◽  
Trophic Levels ◽  
Fig Wasp ◽  
Fig Wasps ◽  
Wasp Species ◽  
Fig Trees ◽  
First Time ◽  
A New Species

Biotic invasion in mutualistic communities is of particular interest due to the possible establishment of new relationships with native species. Ficus species are widely cultivated as ornamental plants, and they host specific communities of chalcid wasps that are strictly associated with the fig inflorescences. Some introduced fig species are capable of establishing new relationships with the local fig wasps, and fig wasp species may also be concomitantly introduced with their host plants. Ficusbenjamina L. is widely cultivated across the world, but the associated fig wasps are not reported outside of the species native range. We describe for the first time a non-pollinating fig wasp associated with F.benjamina inflorescences outside its native distribution. Sycobiahodites Farache & Rasplus, sp. n. is the third known species of the genus and was recorded in populations of F.benjamina introduced in the Neotropical region throughout several localities in Argentina, Brazil and Colombia. Sycobia is a gall-inducing non-pollinating fig wasp genus associated with fig trees in the Oriental and Australasian regions. This species competes with pollinators for oviposition sites and may hinder the future establishment of the native pollinator of F.benjamina, Eupristinakoningsbergeri Grandi, 1916 in the New World. However, the occurrence of a gall inducing species in this host plant may open ecological opportunities for the establishment of species belonging to other trophic levels such as cleptoparasite and parasitoid wasps.

scholarly journals The Extent of Pollinator Sharing Among Fig Trees in Southern China

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hui Yu ◽  
Yaolin Liao ◽  
Yufen Cheng ◽  
Ke Fushi ◽  
Jia Yongxia ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Southern China ◽  
Species Trees ◽  
Fig Wasp ◽  
Fig Wasps ◽  
Dioecious Species ◽  
Heterospecific Pollen ◽  
Obligate Mutualism ◽  
Pollinator Sharing ◽  
Similar Appearance ◽  
Fig Trees

Abstract Background: The obligate mutualism between fig trees (Ficus, Moraceae) and pollinating fig wasps (Agaonidae) is a model system for studying co-evolution due to its perceived extreme specificity, but recent studies have reported a number of examples of trees pollinated by more than one fig wasp or sharing pollinators with other trees. This makes pollen flow between species and hybridization more likely. We reared pollinator fig wasps from figs of 13 Chinese fig tree species trees and established their identity using genetic methods in order to investigate the extent to which are they were supporting more than one species of pollinator.Results: Our results showed 1) pollinator sharing was frequent among closely-related dioecious species (where pollinator offspring and seeds develop on different trees), but not monoecious species and 2) that where two pollinator species were developing in figs of one host species there was usually one fig wasp that was far rarer than the other. An exception was F. triloba, where its two pollinators were equally abundant. Conclusions: Our results suggest that host expansion events where pollinators reproduce in figs other than those of their usual hosts are not uncommon among fig wasps associated with dioecious hosts. Because closely related trees typically have closely related pollinators that have a very similar appearance, the extent of pollinator-sharing has probably been underestimated. Any pollinators that enter female figs carrying heterospecific pollen could potentially generate hybrid seed, and the extent of hybridization and its significance may also have been underestimated.

scholarly journals Ecology of parasite Sycophilomorpha sp. on Ficus altissima and its effect on the fig-fig wasp mutualism

Parasitology ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 137 (13) ◽  
pp. 1913-1919 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. Q. PENG ◽  
J. B. ZHAO ◽  
R. D. HARRISON ◽  
D. R. YANG
Keyword(s):  
Detrimental Effect ◽  
Southwestern China ◽  
Fig Wasp ◽  
Fig Wasps ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Obligate Mutualism ◽  
Time Periods

SUMMARYFigs and their pollinating wasps are a classic example of an obligate mutualism. In addition, figs are parasitized by a suite of non-mutualistic wasps whose basic ecology is largely undescribed. Sycophilomorpha (subfamily Epichrysomallinae) fig wasps are ovule gallers and the genus contains only 1 described species. An undescribed Sycophilomorpha species parasitized Ficus altissima at Xishuangbana, Southwestern China. The wasp was observed ovipositing on the tiny immature figs that were still concealed beneath the involucral bracts. A Sycophilomorpha wasp oviposited on more than 1 fig and spent long time-periods to lay large clutches on a single fig. The wasps naturally occurred on all 7 sampled trees, but the occurrence of wasps was significantly different among trees, crops and months. These wasps were able to prevent unpollinated figs from being aborted, and their offspring were able to develop in the figs that otherwise had no pollinator wasps or seeds. The Sycophilomorpha wasp had a detrimental effect on the fig–fig wasp mutualism. Figs in which Sycophilomorpha wasps were present, produced significantly fewer seeds, pollinators and cheaters. However, the abundance of Sycophilomorpha in a fig was only significantly negatively correlated with pollinator production and not seed or cheater production. Our study illustrates a previously unknown fig wasp niche and expands our understanding of factors that can affect the fig–fig wasp interaction.

The population dynamics of a non-pollinating fig wasp on Ficus auriculata at Xishuangbanna, China

2005 ◽  
Vol 21 (5) ◽  
pp. 581-584 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yan-Qiong Peng ◽  
Da-Rong Yang ◽  
Zhu-Biao Duang
Keyword(s):  
Population Dynamics ◽  
Fig Wasp ◽  
Fig Wasps ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Obligate Mutualism ◽  
Species Specific ◽  
Almost All

All fig wasps are confined to figs as larvae, and their specialized diets are restricted to fig embryos, galled fig ovaries or other fig wasp larvae (Boucek 1988). Almost all of the ∼800 Ficus species (Moraceae) are involved in species-specific obligate mutualism with a pollinating fig wasp (Hymenoptera: Agaonidae), which also strictly depends on its host fig for reproduction (Berg 2003, Ramirez 1970, Wiebes 1979). More than half of all fig species are functionally dioecious, with male and female functions relegated to separate plants, called gall and seed figs (Kjellberg et al. 1987). Gall figs are functionally male because they foster the pollinator larvae that disperse the fig's pollen as adults. Seed figs are functionally female and produce only seeds. The styles are too long for pollinator ovipositors to reach the ovules, and hence they cannot lay eggs. Gall fig styles are short (Ganeshaiah et al. 1995, Weiblen et al. 1995).

scholarly journals More examples of breakdown the 1:1 partner specificity between figs and fig wasps

2021 ◽  
Vol 62 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hui Yu ◽  
Yaolin Liao ◽  
Yufen Cheng ◽  
Yongxia Jia ◽  
Stephen G. Compton
Keyword(s):  
Dispersal Ability ◽  
Fig Wasp ◽  
Fig Wasps ◽  
Dioecious Species ◽  
Heterospecific Pollen ◽  
Pollinator Species ◽  
Obligate Mutualism ◽  
Pollinator Sharing ◽  
Similar Appearance ◽  
Fig Trees

Abstract Background The obligate mutualism between fig trees (Ficus, Moraceae) and pollinating fig wasps (Agaonidae) is a model system for studying co-evolution due to its perceived extreme specificity, but recent studies have reported a number of examples of trees pollinated by more than one fig wasp or sharing pollinators with other trees. This will make the potential of pollen flow between species and hybridization more likely though only few fig hybrids in nature have been found. We reared pollinator fig wasps from figs of 13 Chinese fig tree species and established their identity using genetic methods in order to investigate the extent to which they were supporting more than one species of pollinator (co-pollinator). Results Our results showed (1) pollinator sharing was frequent among closely-related dioecious species (where pollinator offspring and seeds develop on different trees); (2) that where two pollinator species were developing in figs of one host species there was usually one fig wasp with prominent rate than the other. An exception was F. triloba, where its two pollinators were equally abundant; (3) the extent of co-pollinator within one fig species is related to the dispersal ability of them which is stronger in dioecious figs, especially in small species. Conclusions Our results gave more examples to the breakdown of extreme specificity, which suggest that host expansion events where pollinators reproduce in figs other than those of their usual hosts are not uncommon among fig wasps associated with dioecious hosts. Because closely related trees typically have closely related pollinators that have a very similar appearance, the extent of pollinator-sharing has probably been underestimated. Any pollinators that enter female figs carrying heterospecific pollen could potentially generate hybrid seed, and the extent of hybridization and its significance may also have been underestimated.

Parasitodiplogaster citrinema is an internal necrophagous species of the pollinating fig wasp Pegoscapus tonduzi

Nematology ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 17 (6) ◽  
pp. 733-738 ◽  
Author(s):  
William Ramírez-Benavides ◽  
Luis Salazar-Figueroa
Keyword(s):  
Adult Female ◽  
Fig Wasp ◽  
Fig Wasps ◽  
Second Stage ◽  
65 H

Parasitodiplogaster has been considered to be an internal specialised parasite of the pollinating fig wasps. We found that the second-stage juveniles of Parasitodiplogaster citrinema emerge directly from the eggs retained in the ovaries, penetrate the adult female wasps at their eclosion from their galls, and moult to inactive dauers. Parasitodiplogaster dauers are ensheathed, and do not abandon the living host, while the pre-adults become necrophagous inside the wasp cadaver. The adult nematodes emerge from the wasp’s cadaver 72 h (up to 240 h) after the wasp perishes. Parasitodiplogaster citrinema was found to be proovigenic, has about 15 developed eggs in each oviduct and is ovoviviparous. Unfed caged adult female wasps remained alive for 65 h despite being infected. The dauers do not feed or grow inside the living hosts, and the adults seem to feed on dead fig tissues.

scholarly journals Predicting species distribution and abundance responses to climate change: why it is essential to include biotic interactions across trophic levels

2010 ◽  
Vol 365 (1549) ◽  
pp. 2025-2034 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wim H. Van der Putten ◽  
Mirka Macel ◽  
Marcel E. Visser
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Exotic Species ◽  
Climate Warming ◽  
Species Distribution ◽  
Species Interactions ◽  
Biotic Interactions ◽  
Trophic Levels ◽  
Plant Abundance ◽  
Species Responses ◽  
New Perspective

Current predictions on species responses to climate change strongly rely on projecting altered environmental conditions on species distributions. However, it is increasingly acknowledged that climate change also influences species interactions. We review and synthesize literature information on biotic interactions and use it to argue that the abundance of species and the direction of selection during climate change vary depending on how their trophic interactions become disrupted. Plant abundance can be controlled by aboveground and belowground multitrophic level interactions with herbivores, pathogens, symbionts and their enemies. We discuss how these interactions may alter during climate change and the resulting species range shifts. We suggest conceptual analogies between species responses to climate warming and exotic species introduced in new ranges. There are also important differences: the herbivores, pathogens and mutualistic symbionts of range-expanding species and their enemies may co-migrate, and the continuous gene flow under climate warming can make adaptation in the expansion zone of range expanders different from that of cross-continental exotic species. We conclude that under climate change, results of altered species interactions may vary, ranging from species becoming rare to disproportionately abundant. Taking these possibilities into account will provide a new perspective on predicting species distribution under climate change.

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