The diversity of hemi-epiphytic figs (Ficus ; Moraceae) in a Bornean lowland rain forest

Abstract

The diversity and niche specificity of hemi‐epiphytic figs in a lowland dipterocarp forest in Sarawak were investigated in 1998. Twenty‐seven fig species (264 individuals, c. 120 ha) colonized a diversity of host taxa (35 families), but densities were very low and only 1.77% of trees> 30 cm d.b.h. were occupied. There were no significant associations with host taxa or host‐bark roughness but among 11 common species (≥9 individuals) the distributions of all other parameters (host‐d.b.h., height and position of colonization, crown illumination, soil‐texture and slope‐angle) were significantly different, and we identified five fig guilds. The guilds corresponded to canopy strata, and appeared to reflect the establishment microsite requirements of different species. A fundamental trade‐off within the hemi‐epiphytic habit was revealed: Species colonizing larger hosts were rarer, because of lower host densities and more specific microsite requirements, but had better light environments and attained a larger maximum size. The single strangler species appeared to escape many of these constraints, and an important source of mortality caused by host‐toppling, indicating the advantages of this strategy. Thus, the hemi‐epiphytic figs in this community have come to fill a remarkable diversity of niches, despite low levels of competition, through the exigencies of a complex environment. © 2003 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society , 2003, 78, 439–455

Ecology of hemiepiphytism in fig species is based on evolutionary correlation of hydraulics and carbon economy

“…Symbols are as defined in Fig. 1. forests, which is a widespread microhabitat with high light availability (Harrison et al 2003). In contrast, most NHs are pioneers dependent on canopy gaps for regeneration and directly compete with a large number of other rain forest tree species (Harrison and Shanahan 2005).…”

Molecular phylogenies of figs and fig-pollinating wasps in the Ryukyu and Bonin (Ogasawara) islands, Japan

“…Ficus is one of the most diversified genera of woody plants in the tropics (Harrison, 2005), and because of the year-round production of the fruits, fig species play an important role as keystone plant resources for many terrestrial organisms (Lambert and Marshall, 1991;Kissling et al, 2007). Symbiotic interaction between plants and animals is considered as one of important factors contributing the biodiversity of the terrestrial ecosystem especially in tropical and subtropical regions, therefore, it is interesting to know how the interaction among Ficus and their associated animals has arisen and is being maintained (Janzen, 1979;Frank, 1989;Kjellberg and Maurice, 1989;McKey, 1989;Windsor et al, 1989;Berg, 1990;Herre, 1996;Nason et al, 1998;Harrison, 2003;Harrison et al, 2003;Herre et al, 2008).…”

Pollination of Ficus elastica: India rubber re-establishes sexual reproduction in Singapore

“…elastica had been reproducing naturally in the gardens over many years (Figs 3 and 4). Stranglers are hemi-epiphytes, meaning they begin life as an epiphytic seedling in the fork of a large tree and then send roots down the host truck to connect with the ground 25 . In mature individuals it is possible to deduce the position on the host tree of the original epiphytic seedling, as this is the point at which the aerial roots connect to the trunk and branches (Fig.…”