Preferences of fig wasps and fruit bats for figs of functionally dioecious Ficus pungens

Abstract

Figs (Ficus species) are an important resource for a diverse array of organisms in most tropical forests (Janzen 1979 but see Gautier-Hion & Michaloud 1989). The inflorescence of Ficus, hereafter referred to as the ‘fig’, is an enclosed receptacle lined with unisexual flowers. The flowers of Ficus species are pollinated by wasps that feed on galled fig ovules as larvae and that lay eggs in fig flowers as adults (Weiblen 2002). Ripe figs are consumed by vertebrate frugivores, which are the primary dispersers of fig seeds (Shanahan et al. 2001). The interaction between figs, pollinators and frugivores introduces the potential for conflict between the roles of raising fig wasps and dispersing seeds. Specifically, the pollination mutualism could be compromised if frugivores consumed figs containing pollinator larvae. This conflict is resolved in very different ways according to the breeding system of the fig.