Composition and structure of the fig wasp community in Amazonia

Castro, Raquel Ribeiro de Souza; Rezende, Alinne Costa Cavalcante; Roque, Rosemary Aparecida; Justiniano, Silvia Cássia Brandão; Santos, Otilene dos Anjos

doi:10.1590/1809-4392201500173

Cited by 7 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 28 publications

(38 reference statements)

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“…This suggests that nematode (Figure 4). This contrasts with most Ficus species (Compton and Hawkins 1992, Bouček 1993, West and Herre 1994, Marussich and Machado 2007, Conchou et al 2013, Borges 2015, Castro et al 2015 and reveals an unusually high level of exploitation in the F. petiolaris pollination mutualism by non-pollinators.…”

Section: Geographical and Seasonal Variation In Host Availability Andmentioning

confidence: 56%

Figs, pollinators, and parasites: A longitudinal study of the effects of nematode infection on fig wasp fitness

et al. 2018

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Mutualisms are interactions between two species in which the fitnesses of both symbionts benefit from the relationship. Although examples of mutualism are ubiquitous in nature, the ecology, evolution, and stability of mutualism has rarely been studied in the broader, multispecies community context in which they occur. The pollination mutualism between figs and fig wasps provides an excellent model system for investigating interactions between obligate mutualists and antagonists. Compared to the community of non-pollinating fig wasps that develop within figs inflorescences at the expense of fig seeds and pollinators, consequences of interactions between female pollinating wasps and their host-specialist nematode parasites is much less well understood. Here we focus on a tri-partite system comprised of a fig (Ficus petiolaris), pollinating wasp (Pegoscapus sp.), and nematode (Parasitodiplogaster sp.), investigating geographical variation in the incidence of attack and mechanisms through which nematodes may limit the fitness of their wasp hosts at successive life history stages. Observational data reveals that nematodes are ubiquitous across their host range in Baja California, Mexico; that the incidence of nematode infection varies across seasons within-and between locations, and that infected pollinators are sometimes associated with fitness declines through reduced offspring production. We find that moderate levels of infection (1-9 juvenile nematodes per host) are well tolerated by pollinator wasps whereas higher infection levels (≥10 nematodes per host) are correlated with a significant reduction in wasp lifespan and dispersal success. This overexploitation, however, is estimated to occur in only 2.8% of wasps in each generation. The result that nematode infection appears to be largely benign-and the unexpected finding that nematodes frequently infect non-pollinating wasps-highlight gaps in our knowledge of pollinator-Parasitodiplogaster interactions and suggest previously unappreciated ways in which this nematode may influence fig and pollinator fitness, mutualism persistence, and non-pollinator community dynamics.

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Section: Geographical and Seasonal Variation In Host Availability Andmentioning

confidence: 56%

Figs, pollinators, and parasites: A longitudinal study of the effects of nematode infection on fig wasp fitness

et al. 2018

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“…The diameter of the monoecious syconia ficus is known to affect the number of species and insect populations, so it can be said that the larger the diameter of the syconia, the greater the availability of resources for both ficus and pollinating insects. (Cook and Segar 2010;Castro et al 2015;Jauharlina et al 2017).…”

Section: Interaction Of Ficus Plants With Pollinating Insectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Estimation of Seed Production and Germination of Ficus hispida and Ficus racemosa

2022

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Ficus hispida and Ficus racemosa are Moraceae species that commonly grow on riverbanks. Actions to propagate generative plants required more observation due to mutualistic symbiosis between F. hispida and F. racemosa with Ceratosolen solmsi and Ceratosolen fusciceps as pollinating insects. This study aimed to obtain data on seed production, germination, and the interaction of F. hispida and F. racemosa with pollinating insects. Research activities included seed extraction, seed germination testing, and calculation of the number of pollinating insects found in syconia. The results showed that the number of entered insects was related to syconia's receptive phase and diameter. F. hispida produced 3679 seedlings, while F. racemosa produced 2086 seedlings in one period. The number of seeds could cover a 6 ha area with a 4 m x 4 m spacing of planting. The germination percentage of F. hispida and F. racemosa was low to moderate. F. hispida seed germination was only 57.2% and F. racemosa was 68.6%. Thus, the seed should be germinated immediately after extraction. Keywords: Ficus hispida, Ficus racemosa, germination, seed production

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“…Like the vast majority of fig systems, the NPFW (and nematode) community associated with F. petiolaris is speciose (Bouček 1993, Marussich and Machado 2007, Castro et al 2015.…”

Section: Which Npfws Antagonize the F Petiolaris Mutualism?mentioning

confidence: 99%

The enemy of my enemy is my friend: Nematode infection of pollinating and non-pollinating fig wasps has net benefits for the fig-fig wasp pollination mutualism

Goor

Piatscheck²,

Houston

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Mutualistic associations between species pairs are ubiquitous in nature but are also components of broader organismal community networks. These community-level associations have shaped the evolution of individual mutualisms through interspecific interactions ranging from secondarily mutualistic to intensely antagonistic. Our understanding of this complex context remains limited because identifying species interacting with focal mutualists and assessing their associated fitness benefits and costs is difficult, especially over space and through time. Here, we focus on a community comprised of a fig and fig wasp mutualist, eight nonpollinating fig wasp (NPFW) commensals/antagonists, and a nematode previously believed to be associated only with the pollinator wasp mutualist. Through repeated sampling and field experiments, we identified that all NPFWs are targets for infection by this nematode. Further, this infection can impact NPFWs more severely than either mutualistic partner, suggesting a novel role of density-dependent facultative mutualism between fig and wasp mutualists and the nematode.

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Composition and structure of the fig wasp community in Amazonia

Cited by 7 publications

References 28 publications

Figs, pollinators, and parasites: A longitudinal study of the effects of nematode infection on fig wasp fitness

Figs, pollinators, and parasites: A longitudinal study of the effects of nematode infection on fig wasp fitness

Estimation of Seed Production and Germination of Ficus hispida and Ficus racemosa

The enemy of my enemy is my friend: Nematode infection of pollinating and non-pollinating fig wasps has net benefits for the fig-fig wasp pollination mutualism

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