Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive (CEFE), UMR 5175 CNRS, 1919 route de Mende, 34293, Montpellier Cedex 5, France.
Ecol Lett. 2012 Sep;15(9):978-85. doi: 10.1111/j.1461-0248.2012.01818.x. Epub 2012 Jul 5.
The dioecious Mediterranean fig, Ficus carica, displays a unique phenology in which males sometimes bloom synchronously with females (in summer), and sometimes not (in spring). Ficus carica is engaged in an obligatory mutualism with a specific pollinating wasp, which reproduces only within figs, localising them by their specific scents. We show that scents emitted by male figs show seasonal variation within individual trees. Scents of summer male figs resemble those of the co-flowering females, and are different from those of the same male trees in spring, when female figs are absent. These differences hold even if only compounds electrophysiologically active for pollinators are considered. The similar scents of summer males and females may explain why the rewardless females are still pollinated. These results offer a tractable model for future studies of intersexual chemical mimicry in mutualistic pollination interactions.
雌雄异株的地中海无花果树（Ficus carica）表现出一种独特的物候现象，其雄花有时与雌花同步开花（夏季），有时则不同步（春季）。无花果树与一种特定的传粉黄蜂有着强制性的互利共生关系，黄蜂只能在无花果内繁殖，通过它们特有的气味来定位无花果。我们表明，雄花散发出的气味在单棵树上存在季节性变化。夏季雄花的气味与同期开花的雌花相似，与春季无雌花时的气味不同。即使只考虑对传粉者具有电生理活性的化合物，这些差异仍然存在。夏季雄花和雌花相似的气味可能解释了为什么没有回报的雌花仍然能被传粉。这些结果为未来研究互利共生传粉相互作用中的雌雄间化学拟态提供了一个可行的模型。
