Asymmetric sharing of pollinator fig wasps between two sympatric dioecious fig trees: a reflection of supply and demand or differences in the size of their figs?
Hui YuZhiwei ZhangLu LiuYufen ChengXiaoxia DengSimon T SegarStephen G ComptonPublished in: Botanical studies (2022)
This asymmetric sharing of pollinators may reflect the relative abundance of the two species of fig wasps and differences in host reproductive phenology. Asynchronous flowering of individual F. hirta may favor local retention of pollinators, in contrast to the tree-wide synchrony of F. triloba figs, which can generate local shortages of V. esquirolianae. If the pollinator sharing by male figs of F. triloba and F. hirta also occurs in female figs then this could result in gene flow between them.