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Host-specificity and coevolution among pollinating and nonpollinating New World fig wasps.

Wendy A Marussich1, Carlos A Machado

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Area of Science:

  • Ecology
  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Entomology

Background:

  • Figs (Ficus spp.) and their pollinating wasps (Agaonidae) exemplify obligate mutualisms, crucial for studying coevolution and speciation.
  • Beyond pollinators, figs host diverse non-pollinating wasps with varied ecological roles (competitors, gallers, parasitoids).
  • Previous studies explored codivergence in specific fig wasp genera, but none examined a diverse community across multiple fig hosts.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the coevolutionary history of a fig wasp community associated with New World Urostigma figs.
  • To assess phylogenetic relationships within and between five genera of pollinating and non-pollinating fig wasps.
  • To test for evidence of codivergence across different ecological guilds of fig wasps.

Main Methods:

  • Phylogenetic analyses of mitochondrial DNA sequences (COI) from 411 individuals across 69 wasp species.
  • Inclusion of five key fig wasp genera (Pegoscapus, Idarnes, Heterandrium, Aepocerus, Physothorax).
  • Cophylogenetic analyses using TREEMAP and parafit to compare wasp and fig phylogenies.

Main Results:

  • Host-switching and multiple wasp species per host are prevalent among Neotropical non-pollinating wasp genera.
  • Despite widespread host-switching, cophylogenetic analyses revealed evidence of codivergence among wasps from different ecological guilds.
  • Findings indicate complex evolutionary dynamics rather than strict coevolution between figs and all associated wasps.

Conclusions:

  • The study challenges the traditional view of strict coevolution between figs and their wasps.
  • Results highlight diffuse coevolution and asymmetric specialization, common in other plant-pollinator mutualisms.
  • The fig-wasp system demonstrates intricate evolutionary pathways shaped by host-switching and partial codivergence.