| Title: | Daily rhythm of mutualistic pollinator activity and scent emission in Ficus septica: ecological differentiation between co-occurring pollinators and potential consequences for chemical communication and facilitation of host speciation |
| Author(s): | Conchou L; Cabioch L; Rodriguez LJ; Kjellberg F; |
| Address: | "CEFE UMR 5175, CNRS - Universite de Montpellier - Universite Paul-Valery Montpellier - EPHE, Montpellier, France. CEFE UMR 5175, CNRS - Universite de Montpellier - Universite Paul-Valery Montpellier - EPHE, Montpellier, France; Institute of Biology, University of the Philippines Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines" |
| DOI: | 10.1371/journal.pone.0103581 |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 1932-6203 (Electronic) 1932-6203 (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "The mutualistic interaction between Ficus and their pollinating agaonid wasps constitutes an extreme example of plant-insect co-diversification. Most Ficus species are locally associated with a single specific agaonid wasp species. Specificity is ensured by each fig species emitting a distinctive attractive scent. However, cases of widespread coexistence of two agaonid wasp species on the same Ficus species are documented. Here we document the coexistence of two agaonid wasp species in Ficus septica: one yellow-colored and one black-colored. Our results suggest that their coexistence is facilitated by divergent ecological traits. The black species is longer-lived (a few more hours) and is hence active until later in the afternoon. Some traits of the yellow species must compensate for this advantage for their coexistence to be stable. In addition, we show that the composition of the scent emitted by receptive figs changes between sunrise and noon. The two species may therefore be exposed to somewhat different ranges of receptive fig scent composition and may consequently diverge in the way they perceive and/or respond to scents. Whether such situations may lead to host plant speciation is an open question" |
| Keywords: | Analysis of Variance *Animal Communication Animals Circadian Rhythm/*physiology Ficus/genetics/*physiology *Genetic Speciation Longevity Philippines Pollination/*physiology Species Specificity *Symbiosis Volatile Organic Compounds/analysis Wasps/*physiolo; |
| Notes: | "MedlineConchou, Lucie Cabioch, Lea Rodriguez, Lillian J V Kjellberg, Finn eng Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't 2014/08/12 PLoS One. 2014 Aug 8; 9(8):e103581. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0103581. eCollection 2014" |
