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.

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.

Delimitation and description of the immature stages of a pollinating fig wasp, Ceratosolen solmsi marchali Mayr (Hymenoptera: Agaonidae)

2013 ◽  
Vol 104 (2) ◽  
pp. 164-175 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ling-Yi Jia ◽  
Jin-Hua Xiao ◽  
Li-Ming Niu ◽  
Guang-Chang Ma ◽  
Yue-Guan Fu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Developmental Stages ◽  
Model System ◽  
Immature Stages ◽  
Fig Wasp ◽  
Fig Wasps ◽  
Prepupal Stage ◽  
Behavioral Observations ◽  
Ficus Hispida ◽  
Fig Trees ◽  
Developmental Traits

AbstractThe mutualism between fig trees and their wasp pollinators is a model system for many ecological and evolutionary studies. However, the immature stages of pollinating fig wasps have rarely been studied. We monitored developing fig wasps of known ages and performed a series of dissections at 24 h intervals to identify key developmental traits of Ceratosolen solmsi marchali Mayr (Hymenoptera: Agaonidae), a pollinator of Ficus hispida L. (Moraceae). We identified where in the Ficus ovary eggs were deposited and time to hatch. We were also able to identify the timing and key underlying characters of five larval instars, three sub-pupal stages, and a single prepupal stage. We provide detailed morphological descriptions for the key stages and report some behavioral observations of the wasps in the several developmental stages we recorded. Scanning electron microscope images were taken.

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 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 Spread of Endosepsis in Calimyrna Fig Orchards

1998 ◽  
Vol 88 (7) ◽  
pp. 637-647 ◽  
Author(s):  
Themis J. Michailides ◽  
David P. Morgan
Keyword(s):  
Fusarium Verticillioides ◽  
Tree Canopy ◽  
Disease Spread ◽  
Fig Wasp ◽  
Fig Wasps ◽  
Contamination Source ◽  
The North ◽  
Close Proximity ◽  
Fig Trees ◽  
North And South

Pollination of the edible fig (Ficus carica cv. Calimyrna) is mediated by a small symbiotic wasp, Blastophaga psenes, that inhabits the syconium cavity of the spring crop of fig pollinator trees (caprifigs). These fig wasps also carry propagules, mainly of Fusarium verticillioides (formerly F. moniliforme) and other Fusarium spp., which cause endosepsis, from pollinator figs to the edible Calimyrna figs in California. Spread of endosepsis was studied in one experimental and up to four commercial Calimyrna fig orchards from 1989 through 1995. The incidence of endosepsis in fruit collected from the tree canopy at either <2.0 m (low) or >2.0 m (high) height, from the north and south of the tree canopy, and from the outer (direct sunlight) and inner (shaded) canopy were similar. More wasps were captured in fig trees located 3.5 to 10 m east or west of the source than in trees 48 to 63 m from the source. In addition, significantly more wasps entered the syconia of trees closest (9 to 12.7 m) to the source than the syconia of the second or third trees (18 to 38.2 m) from the source. Endosepsis decreased with distance from the source, decreasing faster to the south than in other directions from the source. In addition, the disease-vectoring wasps decreased with increased distance from the source, which also described the disease spread from the contamination source for most directions, with a sharper decline south of the source. A 3-year study in three commercial Calimyrna orchards showed there is no secondary spread of fig endosepsis in the field. Although endosepsis can complete as many cycles (three to four) as its vector in fig pollinator trees, in Calimyrna figs it is considered a monocyclic disease. Because fig wasp pollinators prefer to stay close to the contamination source when receptive Calimyrna figs are available in close proximity, only disease sources (caprifigs trees) found among Calimyrna trees or at a distance less than 50 m from the borders of Calimyrna orchards affect endosepsis incidence in commercial orchards.

scholarly journals Pollinator sharing and gene flow among closely related sympatric dioecious fig taxa

2016 ◽  
Vol 283 (1828) ◽  
pp. 20152963 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gang Wang ◽  
Charles H. Cannon ◽  
Jin Chen
Keyword(s):  
Gene Flow ◽  
Host Recognition ◽  
Floral Volatiles ◽  
Fig Wasps ◽  
Pollinator Species ◽  
Pollinator Preference ◽  
Main Host ◽  
Pollinator Sharing ◽  
Plant Diversification

Hybridization and insect pollination are widely believed to increase rates of plant diversification. The extreme diversity of figs ( Ficus ) and their obligate pollinators, fig wasps (Agaonidae), provides an opportunity to examine the possible role of pollinator-mediated hybridization in plant diversification. Increasing evidence suggests that pollinator sharing and hybridization occurs among fig taxa, despite relatively strict coevolution with the pollinating wasp. Using five sympatric dioecious fig taxa and their pollinators, we examine the degree of pollinator sharing and inter-taxa gene flow. We experimentally test pollinator preference for floral volatiles, the main host recognition signal, from different figs. All five fig taxa shared pollinators with other taxa, and gene flow occurred between fig taxa within and between sections. Floral volatiles of each taxon attracted more than one pollinator species. Floral volatiles were more similar between closely related figs, which experienced higher levels of pollinator sharing and inter-taxa gene flow. This study demonstrates that pollinator sharing and inter-taxa gene flow occurs among closely related sympatric dioecious fig taxa and that pollinators choose the floral volatiles of multiple fig taxa. The implications of pollinator sharing and inter-taxa gene flow on diversification, occurring even in this highly specialized obligate pollination system, require further study.

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 Ancient fig wasps indicate at least 34 Myr of stasis in their mutualism with fig trees

2010 ◽  
Vol 6 (6) ◽  
pp. 838-842 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen G. Compton ◽  
Alexander D. Ball ◽  
Margaret E. Collinson ◽  
Peta Hayes ◽  
Alexandr P. Rasnitsyn ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Single Species ◽  
Molecular Evidence ◽  
Fig Wasp ◽  
Fig Wasps ◽  
Host Trees ◽  
Modern Species ◽  
Recent Species ◽  
Anatomical Characters ◽  
Fig Trees ◽  
The Relationship

Fig wasps and fig trees are mutually dependent, with each of the 800 or so species of fig trees ( Ficus , Moraceae) typically pollinated by a single species of fig wasp (Hymenoptera: Agaonidae). Molecular evidence suggests that the relationship existed over 65 Ma, during the Cretaceous. Here, we record the discovery of the oldest known fossil fig wasps, from England, dated at 34 Ma. They possess pollen pockets that contain fossil Ficus pollen. The length of their ovipositors indicates that their host trees had a dioecious breeding system. Confocal microscopy and scanning electron microscopy reveal that the fossil female fig wasps, and more recent species from Miocene Dominican amber, display the same suite of anatomical characters associated with fig entry and pollen-carrying as modern species. The pollen is also typical of modern Ficus . No innovations in the relationship are discernible for the last tens of millions of years.

scholarly journals Tritrophic interactions involving a dioecious fig tree, its fig pollinating wasp and fig nematodes

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Jauharlina ◽  
Hartati Oktarina ◽  
Rina Sriwati ◽  
Natsumi Kanzaki ◽  
Rupert J. Quinnell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nematode Species ◽  
First Record ◽  
Fig Wasp ◽  
Fig Wasps ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Population Sizes ◽  
Fig Tree ◽  
Ficus Hispida ◽  
Fig Trees ◽  
New Generation

AbstractMany species of fig trees (Ficus spp., Moraceae) have nematodes that develop inside their inflorescences (figs). Nematodes are carried into young figs by females of the trees’ host-specific pollinating fig wasps (Agaonidae) that enter the figs to lay their eggs. The majority of Asian fig trees are functionally dioecious. Pollinators that enter figs on female trees cannot reproduce and offspring of any nematodes they carry will also be trapped inside. The biology of the nematodes is diverse, but poorly understood. We contrasted the development of nematodes carried by the pollinating fig wasp Ceratosolen solmsi marchali into figs on male and female trees of Ficus hispida in Sumatra, Indonesia. Figs were sampled from both male and female trees over a six-month period, with the nematodes extracted to record their development of their populations inside the figs. Populations of three species of nematodes developed routinely inside figs of both sexes: Caenorhabditis sp. (Rhabditidae), Ficophagus cf. centerae and Martininema baculum (both Aphelenchoididae). This is the first record of a Caenorhabditis sp. associated with F. hispida. Mean numbers of nematodes reached around 120-140 in both male and female figs. These peak population sizes coincided with the emergence of the new generation of adult fig wasps in male fig trees. We conclude that figs on female trees can support development and reproduction of some nematode species, but the absence of vectors means that their populations cannot persist beyond the lifetime of a single fig. Just like their fig wasp vectors, the nematodes cannot avoid this routine source of mortality.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document