Ovipositor morphology correlates with life history evolution in agaonid fig wasps

Author(s)

Elias, Larissa Galante ; Kjellberg, Finn ; Antoniolli Farache, Fernando Henrique ; Almeida, Eduardo A. B. ; Rasplus, Jean-Yves ; Cruaud, Astrid ; Peng, Yan-Qiong ; Yang, Da-Rong ; Santinelo Pereira, Rodrigo Augusto

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: ACTA OECOLOGICA-INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY; v. 90, p. 8-pg., 2018-07-01.

Abstract

The high adaptive success of parasitic Hymenoptera might be related to the use of different oviposition sites, allowing niche partitioning among co-occurring species resulting in life history specialization and diversification. In this scenario, evolutionary changes in life history and resources for oviposition can be associated with changes in ovipositor structure, allowing exploitation of different substrates for oviposition. We used a formal phylogenetic framework to investigate the evolution of ovipositor morphology and life history in agaonid wasps. We sampled 24 species with different life histories belonging to all main clades of Agaonidae including representatives of all described genera of non-pollinating fig wasps (NPFW). Our results show an overall correlation between ovipositor morphology and life history in agaonid fig wasps. Ovipositor morphologies seem to be related to constraints imposed by features of the oviposition sites since ovipositor morphology has experienced convergent evolution at least four times in Sycophaginae (Agaonidae) according to the resource used. Nongalling species have more distantly spaced teeth with uneven spacing, as opposed to the observed morphology of galling species. Our results suggest that the ancestral condition for ovipositor morphology was most likely the presence of one or two apical teeth. Regarding life history, ovary galling species that oviposit in receptive figs possibly represent the ancestral condition. Different ovipositor characteristics allow exploitation of new niches and may be related to resource partitioning and species co-existence in the fig-fig wasp system. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 15/25417-7 - Diversity and evolution of host-species relationship of wasps associated with neotropical fig trees
• Grantee: Rodrigo Augusto Santinelo Pereira
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• FAPESP's process: 11/09477-9 - Taxonomy, phylogeny, biogeography, and evolution of Neopasiphaeinae bees (Hymenoptera: Colletidae) using molecular and morphological data
• Grantee: Eduardo Andrade Botelho de Almeida
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Young Investigators Grants
• FAPESP's process: 15/06430-2 - Taxonomy, molecular phylogenetics, and evolution of host specialization in two genera of Neotropical fig wasps (Pegoscapus Cameron, 1906 and Idarnes Walker, 1843; Hymenoptera, Agaonidae).
• Grantee: Fernando Henrique Antoniolli Farache
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• FAPESP's process: 13/01918-1 - Role of the venom gland in fig wasps larval biology (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea)
• Grantee: Larissa Galante Elias
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral