The pollination of Ficus vogelii in Ghana

Abstract

Ficus uogelii is a primitive monoecious species, in which staminate and pistillate Howers are distributed throughout the syconium without localization. There is no bimodal structural distinction between seed Howers and gall Howers, and any pistillate Hower is capable of seed production. Each syconiurn follows a development cycle lasting approximately 45 days. The chief pollcn vector is the agaonid wasp Allotriozoon hetermdromorphum, which is an obligate symbiont. Adult fernales of this species have mesothoracic "pockets" in which pollen is carried. Adult males do not display the anther-cutting activity reported in other species. The life cycle of the pollinator is dcscribed in rrlation to the developmental cycle of the syconium.

A mutualism at the edge of its range

“…(1989), BirkhS.user Verlag, CH-40|0 Basel/Switzerland 623 Each one is a hollow structure (a multiple receptacle) lined with hundreds of florets. In contrast, nonequatorial fig species show distinct seasonal rhythms in phenolo-gy z, 3,68,88,89,92,118,125 For example, two Panamanian species (E insipida and E yoponensis) consistently fruit more often towards the beginning and end of the rainy season, and less often in mid-wet season and late dry season 88. The wasps enter the syconia via the ostiole, becoming trapped in the process.…”

Costs of inflorescence longevity for an Asian fig tree and its pollinator

“…These include (1) emitting species-specific volatile chemicals to attract their pollinators (van Noort et al 1989;Ware and Compton 1994b;Grison-Pigé et al 2002); (2) closing the ostiole at varying rates after pollinator entry depending on foundress number, thereby balancing the needs of individual syconia with the total number of syconia that can be entered by a given number of fig wasps (Verkerke 1989;Hu et al 2010) and (3) prolonging the duration of the receptive period of un-pollinated individual syconia Khadari et al 1995). In Ficus species, the length of the receptive period during which unpollinated syconia are attractive to pollinators appears to vary from a few 5 days to several weeks (Newton and Lomo 1979;Khadari et al 1995;Bronstein and Hossaert-McKey 1996;Patel 1996). After pollinator entry, receptivity is lost quickly (Ramirez 1970;Janzen 1979), though some syconia can extend their receptive period if visited by only a single pollinator (Khadari et al 1995).…”

Non-Pollinating Afrotropical Fig Wasps Affect the Fig-Pollinator Mutualism in Ficus within the Subgenus Sycomorus

“…Like pollinators, a few non-pollinating fig wasps, considered as true gall-makers, enter the fig receptacle forcing their way between the ostiolar bracts to oviposit through the styles; however, they lack pollen-loading adaptations, and hence are unable to efficiently transport pollen (Galil andEisikowitch 1969, Galil et al 1970) but see Newton and Lomo (1979) (Bronstein 1991).…”