Latitudinal effects on phenology near the northern limit of figs in China.

ABSTRACT: The interaction between pollinating wasps and figs is an obligate plant-insect mutualism, and the ca. 750 Ficus species are mainly tropical. Climatic constraints may limit species distributions through their phenology and this seems particularly likely for figs, where phenological mismatches can cause local extinction of the short-lived pollinators. We therefore compared the phenologies of Ficus altissima, F. racemosa and F. semicordata in tropical Xishuangbanna (21°55'N) and subtropical Liuku (25°50'N), SW China, to understand what factors limit fig distributions near their northern limits. All species produced synchronous crops of syconia in Xishuangbanna but production in Liuku was continuous, which may help maintain pollinator populations. However, in general, we found decreased fitnes

SUBMITTER: Chen H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5847597 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature