Cerezini Monise T, Rattis Ludmila, Furini Paulo R, Pereira Rodrigo A S
Faculdade de Ciências Aplicadas, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Limeira 13484-350, SP, Brazil.
Woodwell Climate Research Center, Tropics Program, Falmouth, MA 02540-1644, USA.
Plants (Basel). 2024 Jul 9;13(14):1889. doi: 10.3390/plants13141889.
Understanding the ecological and evolutionary aspects of mutualistic interactions is essential for predicting species responses to environmental changes. This study aimed to investigate the phenological patterns and reproductive strategies in two closely related fig tree species, and . We monitored 99 and 21 trees weekly from January 2006 to April 2011 in an area close to the southern edge of the tropical region in Brazil. Our results revealed contrasting phenological patterns between the two species, with displaying an annual flowering pattern (1.4 episodes per tree per year) and a supra-annual pattern (0.5 episodes per tree per year). We also found significant differences in reproductive strategies, with producing more pistillate flowers and, consequently, more seeds and pollinating wasps per fig than , likely as an adaptation to overcome limitations of low population density by maximizing the gene flow. As the shorter-lived organism, the fig wasp was found to influence critical processes associated with the success and stability of mutualism, such as fig development and ripening. Our findings emphasize the importance of understanding the intricate interactions between mutualistic partners and their adaptive responses to environmental conditions in shaping fig tree populations' reproductive strategies and genetic structure.
了解互利共生相互作用的生态和进化方面对于预测物种对环境变化的反应至关重要。本研究旨在调查两种近缘无花果树物种的物候模式和繁殖策略。2006年1月至2011年4月，我们在巴西热带地区南缘附近的一个区域每周监测99棵[第一种无花果树物种名称]和21棵[第二种无花果树物种名称]树。我们的结果揭示了这两个物种之间截然不同的物候模式，[第一种无花果树物种名称]呈现出每年开花模式（每棵树每年1.4次花期），而[第二种无花果树物种名称]呈现出跨年模式（每棵树每年0.5次花期）。我们还发现了繁殖策略上的显著差异，[第一种无花果树物种名称]产生更多的雌花，因此每个榕果产生的种子和传粉黄蜂比[第二种无花果树物种名称]更多，这可能是一种适应方式，通过最大化基因流动来克服低种群密度的限制。作为寿命较短的生物体，发现榕小蜂会影响与互利共生的成功和稳定性相关的关键过程，如榕果的发育和成熟。我们的研究结果强调了理解互利共生伙伴之间复杂的相互作用及其对环境条件的适应性反应在塑造无花果树种群的繁殖策略和遗传结构方面的重要性。
