Fruit scent as an honest signal for fruit quality.
Animal–plant communications
Coevolution
Frugivory
Honest signaling
Seed dispersal
Journal
BMC ecology and evolution
ISSN: 2730-7182
Titre abrégé: BMC Ecol Evol
Pays: England
ID NLM: 101775613
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
30 11 2022
30 11 2022
Historique:
received:
08
04
2022
accepted:
15
09
2022
entrez:
30
11
2022
pubmed:
1
12
2022
medline:
3
12
2022
Statut:
epublish
Résumé
Fleshy fruits evolved to be attractive to seed dispersers through various signals such as color and scent. Signals can evolve through different trajectories and have various degrees of reliability. The strongest substrate on which reliable signals can evolve is when there is an inherent link between signal and reward, rendering cheating costly or impossible. It was recently proposed that aliphatic esters in fruit scent may be predictive of sugar content due to their synthesis from products of sugar fermentation. We test this hypothesis on a case study of wild fig species (Ficus tiliifolia) from Madagascar, which relies on seed dispersal by lemurs. We found a strong positive correlation between signal (esters) and reward (sugar). We also found that non-esters, including direct fermentation products, in fruit scent do not indicate sugar levels, which implies that this relationship is not simply a product of fruit maturation wherein more mature fruits emit more scent and contain more sugar. While based on a single taxon, these results strongly support the hypothesis that a biochemical link between ester synthesis and sugar may render the ester fraction of fruit scent an honest signal for fruit quality, with consequences for animal sensory and feeding ecology, and the evolution of plants in the context of seed dispersal.
Sections du résumé
BACKGROUND
Fleshy fruits evolved to be attractive to seed dispersers through various signals such as color and scent. Signals can evolve through different trajectories and have various degrees of reliability. The strongest substrate on which reliable signals can evolve is when there is an inherent link between signal and reward, rendering cheating costly or impossible. It was recently proposed that aliphatic esters in fruit scent may be predictive of sugar content due to their synthesis from products of sugar fermentation. We test this hypothesis on a case study of wild fig species (Ficus tiliifolia) from Madagascar, which relies on seed dispersal by lemurs.
RESULTS
We found a strong positive correlation between signal (esters) and reward (sugar). We also found that non-esters, including direct fermentation products, in fruit scent do not indicate sugar levels, which implies that this relationship is not simply a product of fruit maturation wherein more mature fruits emit more scent and contain more sugar.
CONCLUSIONS
While based on a single taxon, these results strongly support the hypothesis that a biochemical link between ester synthesis and sugar may render the ester fraction of fruit scent an honest signal for fruit quality, with consequences for animal sensory and feeding ecology, and the evolution of plants in the context of seed dispersal.
Identifiants
pubmed: 36451093
doi: 10.1186/s12862-022-02064-z
pii: 10.1186/s12862-022-02064-z
pmc: PMC9710009
doi:
Substances chimiques
Pheromones
0
Esters
0
Sugars
0
Types de publication
Journal Article
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Langues
eng
Sous-ensembles de citation
IM
Pagination
139Informations de copyright
© 2022. The Author(s).
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