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Related Experiment Videos

Why do fig wasps actively pollinate monoecious figs?

Emmanuelle Jousselin1, Martine Hossaert-McKey, Edward Allen Herre

  • 1Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionelle et Evolutive, CNRS, 1919 route de Mende, 34293 Montpellier Cedex 5, France. ejousselin@yahoo.com

Oecologia
|March 21, 2003
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

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Active pollination in figs benefits wasps by increasing fertilized flowers for wasp offspring, even though seed formation isn't essential for wasp larvae survival. This active pollination ensures better gall development for wasp reproduction.

Area of Science:

  • Ecology
  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Botany

Background:

  • Active pollination, where pollinators actively transfer pollen, is rare in mutualisms.
  • Fig wasps (pollinators) can be active or passive, laying eggs in flowers, with some flowers hosting larvae instead of seeds.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the benefits of active pollination for fig wasps.
  • To determine if seed formation is essential for wasp larval development in actively pollinated figs.
  • To compare fertilization rates and egg locations in actively versus passively pollinated figs.

Main Methods:

  • Experimental manipulation of pollination in a monoecious fig.
  • Comparison of fertilized flower and egg locations across actively and passively pollinated Ficus species.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Analysis of wasp offspring size and number.

    • Main Results:

    • Lack of pollination did not cause fig abortion or affect wasp offspring size, but reduced offspring numbers.
    • Actively pollinated figs showed higher fertilization rates in flowers containing wasp eggs compared to passively pollinated figs.
    • Seed formation is not obligatory for wasp larval survival but not pollinating incurs a fitness cost.

    Conclusions:

    • Active pollination in figs has evolved to increase the fertilization of flowers containing wasp eggs, enhancing gall development success.
    • The stigmatic platform in actively pollinated figs likely aids pollen dispersion.
    • Unlike other systems, seed set is not obligatory for pollinator larval survival in this monoecious fig system.