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Developing together: The elementome and biogeochemical niche of the mutualistic occupants of a fig microcosm

Kulkarni, Manasa1; Naik, Nehal Vijay2; Vadassery, Jyothilakshmi3; Borges, Renee M.1

Published Feb 22, 2026 on Dryad. https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.3xsj3txt9

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Abstract

In brood-site pollination mutualisms, where flowers provide nutrition and shelter to pollinator offspring in exchange for pollination, resource allocation to inflorescences is directly related to the fitness of plants and pollinators. We determine resource allocation to components of an enclosed monoecious Ficus inflorescence or syconium that, besides seeds, also houses and provides nutrition to pollinator wasp offspring, each developing within individual uniovulate galled flowers. Along with biomass, we determine elemental concentrations as parameters of resource allocation. For the first time, we apply the biogeochemical niche (BN) concept to a mutualism and construct the BN of syconial occupants using the elementomes and stoichiometric ratios of plant, seed, and pollinator tissue. We predicted that BNs of seeds and galls containing wasps should differ due to differences in tissue type and to facilitate their co-development. We also measure trophic stoichiometric ratios (TSRs) for various elements to determine resource mismatch between consumers and resources. We found that the syconium wall, which insulates and protects developing seeds and wasps, constituted 58% of syconial biomass. Individual pollinators and their galls were significantly heavier than seeds indicating that their development is resource- intensive. As predicted, seeds and adult female pollinators had significantly different BNs, highlighting differences in nutritional needs of these mutualistic occupants within a shared nutrient-providing resource. Pollinators had significantly lower C:N and C:P ratios compared to the syconial wall indicating limitation of N and P within host resources. The BN of pollinator wasps was distinguished by significantly higher concentrations of nitrogen, phosphorus, zinc and sulphur compared to the syconium wall or seeds. TSR of >4 for nitrogen and sulphur highlight the heightened resource mismatch that pollinators likely face for these elements during their development. We found no overlap in the BNs of male and female pollinator wasps, likely due to their starkly different anatomical and functional traits. Overall, our study demonstrates how BN and TSR can reveal trading of resources within mutualisms highlighting non-overlapping requirements of elements and the potential limitations it can pose for resource providers and consumers. These parameters can serve as common currencies for comparisons across mutualistic interactions.