| Full text | |
| Author(s): |
Elias, Larissa G.
[1]
;
Teixeira, Simone P.
[2]
;
Kjellberg, Finn
[3]
;
Santinelo Pereira, Rodrigo Augusto
Total Authors: 4
|
| Affiliation: | [1] Univ Sao Paulo, PPG Entomol, Dept Biol, FFCLRP, BR-14049 Ribeirao Preto, SP - Brazil
[2] Univ Sao Paulo, Depto Ciencias Farmaceut, FCFRP, BR-14049 Ribeirao Preto, SP - Brazil
[3] CNRS, Ctr Ecol Fonct & Evolut, F-34033 Montpellier - France
Total Affiliations: 3
|
| Document type: | Journal article |
| Source: | Biological Journal of the Linnean Society; v. 106, n. 1, p. 114-122, MAY 2012. |
| Web of Science Citations: | 26 |
| Abstract | |
Mutualisms such as the figfig wasp mutualism are generally exploited by parasites. We demonstrate that amongst nonpollinating fig wasps (NPFWs) parasitic on Ficus citrifolia, a species of Idarnes galls flowers and another species feeds on galls induced by other wasps killing their larvae. The galling wasp inserts its ovipositor through the fig wall into the fig cavity. The ovipositor then follows a sinuous path and is introduced through the stigma and style of the flower. The egg is deposited between the integument and nucellus, in the exact location where the pollinating mutualistic wasp would have laid its egg. Gall induction is a complex process. In contrast, the path followed by the ovipositor of the other species is straightforward: attacking a larva within a developed gall poses different constraints. Shifts in feeding regime have occurred repeatedly in NPFWs. Monitoring traits associated with such repeated evolutionary shifts may help understand underlying functional constraints. (c) 2012 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2012, 106, 114122. (AU) | |
| FAPESP's process: | 04/10299-4 - Effects of the forest fragmentation in the State of São Paulo and other regions of the South and Southeast of the country in the functioning of populations of fig trees and in the fig-wasp mutualism of figs |
| Grantee: | Rodrigo Augusto Santinelo Pereira |
| Support Opportunities: | BIOTA-FAPESP Program - Young Investigators Grants |