Effects of climate change on a mutualistic coastal species: Recovery from typhoon damages and risks of population erosion

Abstract

Presently, climate change has increased the frequency of extreme meteorological events such as tropical cyclones. In the western Pacific basin, these cyclones are called typhoons, and in this area, around Taiwan Island, their frequency has almost doubled since 2000. When approaching landmasses, typhoons have devastating effects on coastal vegetation. The increased frequency of these events has challenged the survival of coastal plant species and their posttyphoon recovery. In this study, a population of coastal gynodioecious Ficus pedunculosa var. mearnsii (Mearns fig) was surveyed for two years to investigate its recovery after Typhoon Morakot, which occurred in August 2009. Similar to all the Ficus species, the Mearns fig has an obligate mutualistic association with pollinating fig wasp species, which requires syconia (the closed Ficus inflorescence) to complete its life cycle. Moreover, male gynodioecious fig species produces both pollen and pollen vectors, whereas the female counterpart produces only seeds. The recovery of the Mearns fig was observed to be rapid, with the production of both leaves and syconia. The syconium:leaf ratio was greater for male trees than for female trees, indicating the importance of syconium production for the wasp survival. Pollinating wasps live for approximately 1 day; therefore, receptive syconia are crucial. Every typhoon season, few typhoons pass by the coasts where the Mearns fig grows, destroying all the leaves and syconia. In this paper, we highlight the potential diminution of the fig population that can lead to the extinction of the mutualistic pair of species. The effects of climate change on coastal species warrant wider surveys.

Parasitism Features of a Fig Wasp of Genus Apocrypta (Pteromalidae: Pteromalinae) Associated with a Host Belonging to Ficus Subgenus Ficus

“…If NPFWs were too abundant in a fig, they would probably kill off all the males, resulting in all the wasps dying inside their natal fig and thus being counter-selected. (2) Severe habitat: Although Apocrypta wasps are confirmed to live long, surviving for up to 60 days when feeding in the laboratory [22,64], we inferred that "Apocrypta pedunculosa" would not live for such a long period in the field due to the severe climate conditions, such as high temperature and irradiance, strong seasonal monsoon winds, and sporadic typhoons [44,67]. These climate conditions detrimentally affect not only the fig wasps but also the fig trees [67][68][69].…”

“…(2) Severe habitat: Although Apocrypta wasps are confirmed to live long, surviving for up to 60 days when feeding in the laboratory [22,64], we inferred that "Apocrypta pedunculosa" would not live for such a long period in the field due to the severe climate conditions, such as high temperature and irradiance, strong seasonal monsoon winds, and sporadic typhoons [44,67]. These climate conditions detrimentally affect not only the fig wasps but also the fig trees [67][68][69]. Therefore, even if the F. pedunculosa var.…”

Mediation of a Mutualistic Conflict for Pollination via Fig Phenology and Odor Recognition between Ficus and Fig Wasp

“…Tropical fig species from different subgenera also present similar phenological patterns such as F. fulva (subgenus Ficus ) on the island of Borneo [ 21 ] and F. pedunculosa var. mearnsii [ 28 , 29 ]. Studies that show continuous fig production within a population are numerous and widespread enough to define fig production as continuous at a population level.…”

High-Resolution Flow-Simulation in Typhoon 21, 2018: Massive Loss of Submerged Macrophytes in Lake Biwa

“…These results demonstrate that a previously proposed theoretical framework (e.g., Luhar and Nepf, 2011) and analytical model (Hayashi and Konno, 2007) are applicable even to the high flow speed range of 1 m/s or larger for calculating the fluid force acting on submerged macrophytes. Our approach can contribute to assessing the damage to and erosion risk of aquatic populations in various lakes (Chiu et al, 2017), particularly in lakes with aquatic macrophyte habitats, during storm strikes worldwide (Short et al 2016). In particular, based on an evaluation considering violent, high-intensity typhoon strikes projected under climate change scenarios (Mei and Xie, 2016), we can estimate the frequency at which submerged macrophytes will experience massive losses in the future.…”