Abstract
Differences in breeding system are associated with correlated ecological and morphological changes in plants. In Ficus, dioecy and monoecy are strongly associated with different suites of traits (tree height, population density, fruiting frequency, pollinator dispersal ecology). Although approximately 30% of fig species are pollinated by multiple species of fig-pollinating wasps, it has been suggested that copollinators are rare in dioecious figs. Here, we test whether there is a connection between the fig breeding system and copollinator incidence and diversification by conducting a meta-analysis of molecular data from pollinators of 119 fig species that includes new data from 15 Asian fig species. We find that the incidence of copollinators is not significantly different between monoecious and dioecious Ficus. Surprisingly, while all copollinators in dioecious figs are sister taxa, only 32.1% in monoecious figs are sister taxa. We present hypotheses to explain those patterns and discuss their consequences on the evolution of this mutualism.
Highlights
Interspecific mutualisms between flowering plants and their insect pollinators represent one of the most influential types of biological interaction (Herre et al 1999)
We address two main questions: (1) Do monoecious and dioecious figs differ in their observed incidence of co-pollinators? (2) Are patterns of copollinator diversification different between fig breeding systems? That is, are copollinators more likely to be sister or nonsister species depending on the fig breeding system? These novel results provide important insights for understanding the influence of breeding system on fig and fig wasp diversification
COI sequences were obtained from multiple pollinating wasps that had completed their development in syconia of F. auriculata and F. oligodon (C. emarginatus) and in F. semicordata (C. gravelyi), showing the same subclades observed from the main sample of foundresses (Fig. S5)
Summary
Interspecific mutualisms between flowering plants and their insect pollinators represent one of the most influential types of biological interaction (Herre et al 1999). Pollinators of dioecious Ficus show limited ranges of pollen dispersal (Harrison 2003; Harrison and Rasplus 2006) that are thought to generate the significant patterns of spatial genetic structure normally observed in these fig species (Wang et al 2009; Chen et al 2011; Dev et al 2011; Nazareno et al 2013; but see Yu et al 2010 for an exception)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
