The Reproduction Ecology Of Ficus Virens Var. Sublanceolata

Figs (Ficus, Moraceae) constitute one of the greatest genera of flowering plants with 750 species worldwide.There are totally 99 species representing six subgenera of figs in china. Figs are the keystone plant resources in tropical forest. The study of their reproductive ecology could be of great use in the conservation and restoration of tropical rainforest diversity.Figs always are merely actively or passively pollinated by their species-specific pollinating wasps (Agaonidae). Figs and their pollinating wasps are highly adaptable on morphology, physiology and ecology. With their correlation dependence and coevolution, they exhibit a remarkable obligate mutualism which is called fig-fig wasp. The mutualism of fig-fig wasp originate at about 87 million years ago, offering rich materials for the study of coevolution. Except for pollinating wasps, many species of non-pollinating wasps are hosted in the syconia of most figs. The reproduction and stabilization of the mutualism of fig-fig wasp is directly influenced by the reproducting behavior of non-pollinating wasps.For the first time, this paper presented information on the breeding mechanism of Ficus virens var.sublanceolata, mainly on the characters of the reproduvtive ecology, the stratification of ovaries, the classification of species and morphology of fig wasps, and the diversity of community. The study tried to provide some scientific evidences for the construction of urban landscaping and the protection of species in tropical rain forest.The resules were as follows.1.For F. virens., the deciduous trees were monoecious. There was one falling leaves peak per year from March to April and there was little asynchrony among the trees. And then,there are new leaves growing out for all the trees. This period would't last for long in order to providing favorable conditions for the production of fig trees all the year. The fig trees were continuously produced year-round. There were two peaks of inflorescence bud per year,January-February and June-July. Each tree produced 1-3 crops in the whole year and there was asynchrony among the trees.2. There were three floret layers in the fig. The florets were mainly in the intermediate layer in female-phase. In the male-phase,the seeds were mainly in the outer layer,while the galls were mainly in the inner layer. The results showed that the spatial layout in figs played a great role in the reproductive ecology of Ficus, the output of fig wasps and the stability of the organism of fig-fig wasp.The species of fig wasps were abundant which could be confirmed to 6 families or 8 species. Platyscapa coronata was the only species-specific pollinator of F. virens. There was only one pollinating wasp trapped in the cavity of most female-phase syconia. The non-pollinating wasps often oviposited outside the figs, dividing resources through differentiation in oviposition time and larval diet which could negatively affect the persistence and the development of fig-wasp mutualism.4. The number and the species of fig wasps were varing with the season. The composition of the community of fig wasps had little differerce between plot A and plot B. The number of P.coronata and seeds (47%) dominatd in the community from December 2008 to May 2009. The wasps of Epichrysomalinae and Eurytomidae dominatd in the community from June to November, aborted florets (45%) and gall florets (55%) took a favorable advantage, but the number of pollinating wasps,feeds and the species of fig wasps were few during this period. The results showed that the reproductive of fig wasps and seeds were greatly influenced by season.