A mutualism at the edge of its range

Bronstein, Judith L.

doi:10.1007/bf01975679

Cited by 76 publications

(105 citation statements)

References 74 publications

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“…Our data show that the increase in non-pollinator wasps in the highly fragmented forest only results in a decrease in the number of pollinator wasp and the impact on viable seeds is not obvious, which indicates that the negative effect of non-pollinator wasps on pollinator wasps can further exacerbate the obligate interaction between figs and their pollinator wasps. Many previous studies have shown that seasonality and other environmental changes result in a shortage of the pollinator supply to receptive trees (Bronstein 1989(Bronstein , 1991Compton 1994;Anstett et al 1996;Bronstein and McKey 1996). Our data indicate that the negative effect of non-pollinator wasps on pollinator wasps can also result in a shortage of the pollinator population and, thereby, affect the obligate interaction between figs and their pollinator wasps.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 49%

Fragmentation Effects on Diversity of Wasp Community and Its Impact on Fig/Fig Wasp Interaction in Ficus racemosa L.

Wang

Yang

Zhao

et al. 2005

Journal of Integrative Plant Biology

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Abstract:Habitat fragmentation usually results in alteration of species composition or biological communities. However, little is known about the effect of habitat fragmentation on the fig/fig wasp system. In this study, we compared the structure of a fig wasp community and the interaction between figs and fig wasps of Ficus racemosa L. in a primary forest, a locally fragmented forest and a highly fragmented forest. Our results show that, in the highly fragmented forest, the proportion of pollinator wasps is lower and the proportion of non-pollinator wasps is higher compared with the primary forest and locally fragmented forest. The proportion of fruits without pollinator wasps in mature fruits is also greatly increased in the highly fragmented forest. The proportion of galls in all female flowers increases in the highly fragmented forest, whereas the proportion of viable seeds does not change considerably. The disruption of groups of fig trees results in a decrease in pollinator wasps and even might result in the extinction of pollinator wasps in some extreme cases, which may transform the reciprocal interaction between figs and fig wasps into a parasite/host system. Such an effect may lead to the local extinction of this keystone plant resource of rain forests in the process of evolution, and thereby, may change the structure and function of the tropical rain forest.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 49%

Fragmentation Effects on Diversity of Wasp Community and Its Impact on Fig/Fig Wasp Interaction in Ficus racemosa L.

Wang

Yang

Zhao

et al. 2005

Journal of Integrative Plant Biology

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“…We additionally propose a new colonization index for estimating species' abilities to colonize resource patches, which may be useful in situations where direct measurement of dispersal ability poses logistical problems. (Bronstein 1989;Windsor et al 1989). Instead, wasps must seek new figs with ovules receptive for oviposition (Cook and Power 1996;Gates and Nason 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trade-Offs and Coexistence in Fluctuating Environments: Evidence for a Key Dispersal-Fecundity Trade-Off in Five Nonpollinating Fig Wasps

Duthie

Abbott

Nason

2015

The American Naturalist

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JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.. abstract: The ecological principle of competitive exclusion states that species competing for identical resources cannot coexist, but this principle is paradoxical because ecologically similar competitors are regularly observed. Coexistence is possible under some conditions if a fluctuating environment changes the competitive dominance of species. This change in competitive dominance implies the existence of trade-offs underlying species' competitive abilities in different environments. Theory shows that fluctuating distance between resource patches can facilitate coexistence in ephemeral patch competitors, given a functional trade-off between species dispersal ability and fecundity. We find evidence supporting this trade-off in a guild of five ecologically similar nonpollinating fig wasps and subsequently predict local among-patch species densities. We also introduce a novel colonization index to estimate relative dispersal ability among ephemeral patch competitors. We suggest that a dispersal ability-fecundity trade-off and spatiotemporally fluctuating resource availability commonly co-occur to drive population dynamics and facilitate coexistence in ephemeral patch communities.

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“…Conversely, positive biotic interactions can extend the fundamental niche beyond that of the realized niche by enhancing access to limiting resources [9][10][11]. This requires, however, that resource conditions are optimal for both mutualists, and failed or limited facilitation can result in contracted response patterns similar to those created by competitive interactions [12,13]. Connell [14] suggested that species experience physical stress where resources are low-though this can be ameliorated by facilitation [9,15]-and biological stress where resources are high, but fundamental to realized niche contractions have been tested rarely since Connell's studies [16 -18].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The shape of things to come: woodland herb niche contraction begins during recruitment in mesic forest microhabitat

Warren

Bradford

2010

Proc. R. Soc. B.

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Natural abundance is shaped by the abiotic requirements and biotic interactions that shape a species' niche, yet these influences are rarely decoupled. Moreover, most plant mortality occurs during early life stages, making seed recruitment critical in structuring plant populations. We find that natural abundance of two woodland herbs, Hexastylis arifolia and Hepatica nobilis, peaks at intermediate resource levels, a pattern probably formed by concurrent abiotic and biotic interactions. To determine how this abundance patterning reflects intrinsic physiological optima and extrinsic biotic interactions, we translocate adults and seeds to novel locations across experimentally extended abiotic gradients. These experiments indicate that the plant distributions probably reflect biotic interactions as much as physiological requirements, and that adult abundance provides a poor indication of the underlying niche requirements. The positive response exhibited by adult transplants in the wettest conditions is offset by increased fungal attack on buried seeds consistent with peak natural abundance where soil moisture is intermediate. This contraction of niche space is best described by Connell's model-species are limited by physiological tolerances where resources are low and biotic interactions where resources are high.

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A mutualism at the edge of its range

Cited by 76 publications

References 74 publications

Fragmentation Effects on Diversity of Wasp Community and Its Impact on Fig/Fig Wasp Interaction in Ficus racemosa L.

Fragmentation Effects on Diversity of Wasp Community and Its Impact on Fig/Fig Wasp Interaction in Ficus racemosa L.

Trade-Offs and Coexistence in Fluctuating Environments: Evidence for a Key Dispersal-Fecundity Trade-Off in Five Nonpollinating Fig Wasps

The shape of things to come: woodland herb niche contraction begins during recruitment in mesic forest microhabitat

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