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Sexual specialization in two tropical dioecious figs.

Aviva Patel1, Doyle McKey2

  • 1Department of Biology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL 33124, USA, , , , , , US.

Oecologia
|March 18, 2017
PubMed
Summary

Dioecious figs exhibit strong sexual specialization, with reproductive timing optimized for pollination and seed germination. Male figs release wasps when receptive female figs are abundant, while female figs mature fruit during favorable germination seasons.

Keywords:
DioecyKey words AgaonidaeMutualismPhenologyPollination

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Area of Science:

  • Ecology
  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Botany

Background:

  • Fig-wasp mutualism is a specialized interaction where wasps pollinate figs while laying eggs within their syconia.
  • Dioecious fig species separate male and female functions onto different trees, allowing independent selection on each sex's reproductive strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the phenological timing of reproductive functions in two dioecious fig species, Ficus exasperata and Ficus hispida.
  • To test predictions regarding how sexual specialization influences reproductive timing in response to environmental conditions and pollinator availability.

Main Methods:

  • Quantified the phenology of F. exasperata and F. hispida over two years in contrasting dry and wet sites in South India.
  • Tracked the development and fate of thousands of syconia (fig inflorescences) to analyze seasonal patterns and reproductive success.

Main Results:

  • Female trees of both species produced more mature syconia during the wet season, coinciding with optimal germination conditions.
  • Male F. exasperata trees released wasps in the dry season, maximizing pollination of receptive female syconia; male F. hispida had broader production periods.
  • Inflorescence abscission was more common in unpollinated figs, suggesting resource limitation plays a significant role.

Conclusions:

  • Strong sexual differences in phenology support the hypothesis that sexual specialization significantly shapes reproductive biology in dioecious figs.
  • The duration of the receptive phase in male F. exasperata syconia is longer, adapting to scarce pollinators, unlike F. hispida where durations are similar.
  • Female syconia require longer development periods for fruit investment, with greater variation in F. exasperata to buffer against environmental unpredictability.