Jauharlina, J, Quinnell, RJ orcid.org/0000-0003-1557-7745, Robertson, HG et al. (1 more author) (Cover date: October 2023) The effects of seasonal changes on the dynamics of a fig tree's pollination. Acta Oecologica, 120. 103918. ISSN 1146-609X
Abstract
Fig trees and their pollinating wasps are mutually dependent on each other. Both partners' reproductive success is regulated by the capacity of fig wasps to enter receptive figs at an appropriate time for pollination and oviposition. Oviposition is dependent on successful female pollinator dispersal from one tree to another and although fig wasps are slow flyers and short-lived they can be carried long distances by the wind. The relative importance of local versus long-distance pollinator dispersal is unclear, as is how this may vary with season. In the highly seasonal environment of the Makana Botanical Gardens, Grahamstown, South Africa, we recorded fruiting phenologies of all the trees in a monoecious Ficus burtt-davyi Hutchinson population together with variation in the abundance of its pollinator Elisabethiella baijnathi Wiebes. By comparing captures of fig wasps flying in the air with the numbers that emerged locally, we also examined the independence of the fig tree population, which was separated from the nearest conspecifics by more than 1 km. The abundance of pollinators flying in the air and the number of fig wasps released by figs were correlated with temperature. During winter there were times when no pollinators were released locally; however, they were still caught in the traps, showing that the wasps had dispersed from elsewhere and that the population was not totally independent. These results highlight the ability of fig wasps to disperse between populations and the likely impact of seasonal fluctuations on fig tree gene flow.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). |
Keywords: | Moraceae; Fig wasps; Dispersal; Elisabethiella; Ficus, phenology |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Biological Sciences (Leeds) > School of Biology (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 19 Jun 2023 14:35 |
Last Modified: | 19 Jun 2023 14:35 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Elsevier |
Identification Number: | 10.1016/j.actao.2023.103918 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:200542 |