Specific attraction of fig-pollinating wasps: role of volatile compounds released by tropical figs.
2002
Grison-Pigé, Laure | Bessière, Jean-Marie | Hossaert-Mckey, Martine | Centre d’Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive (CEFE) ; Université Paul-Valéry - Montpellier 3 (UPVM)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Centre international d'études supérieures en sciences agronomiques (Montpellier SupAgro)-École Pratique des Hautes Études (EPHE) ; Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD [Occitanie])-Institut national d’études supérieures agronomiques de Montpellier (Montpellier SupAgro) | Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Chimie de Montpellier (ENSCM) | his work was supported by a Brunei Shell Environmental Studies Fellowship and by a grant “Dynamique de la Biodiversité et Environnement” from the French government.
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Show more [+] Less [-]English. Floral scents often act as pollinator attractants. In the case of obligate and specific plant-pollinator relationships, the role of floral signals may be crucial in allowing the encounter of the partners. About 750 Ficus species (Moraceae) are involved in such interactions, each with a distinct species of pollinating wasp (Chalcidoidea, Agaonidae). Several species have been shown to release volatile compounds, but their role in pollinator attraction has rarely been simultaneously tested. We investigated the floral scents of four tropical fig species and combined chemical analysis with biological tests of stimulation of insects. Pollinators of three species were stimulated by the odor of their associated fig species and generally not by the odor of another species. The fourth actually comprised two distinct varieties. The main compound was often a different one in each species. Floral blends of different species always shared compounds, but ratios of these compounds varied among species.
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