Mc. Anstett et al., CRITICAL POPULATION-SIZE FOR FIG WASP MUTUALISM IN A SEASONAL ENVIRONMENT - EFFECT AND EVOLUTION OF THE DURATION OF FEMALE RECEPTIVITY/, Oecologia, 103(4), 1995, pp. 453-461
Fig trees and their pollinating wasps form ca. 750 pairs of obligate m
utualists, mainly in the tropics. Survival of each partner depends on
that of its associated species. Here, we examine the possible outcome
of such an interaction at small population size. Using phenology data
collected on Ficus natalensis in Gabon, we modelled wasp survival and
the reproductive success of the trees according to the duration of rec
eptivity of the tree, the amplitude of flowering seasonality, and the
size of the fig tree population. Since the duration of receptivity is
critical in these population level models, we also determined the infl
uence of individual selection on this phenological trait. The models g
ive three major results: (1) The minimum fig population size required
to sustain a wasp population increases with the amplitude of seasonali
ty, and decreases with increasing duration of receptivity; (2) tree po
pulation reproductive success is higher when the duration of receptivi
ty is longer and when the population is large, but (3) individual sele
ction toward a long duration of receptivity is weak or absent.