Data from: Pollinator sharing and gene flow among closely related sympatric dioecious fig taxa

Hybridization and insect pollination are widely believed to increase rates
of plant diversification. The extreme diversity of figs (Ficus) and their
obligate pollinators, fig wasps (Agaonidae), provides an opportunity to
examine the possible role of pollinator-mediated hybridization in plant
diversification. Increasing evidence suggests that pollinator sharing and
hybridization occurs among fig taxa, despite relatively strict
co-evolution with the pollinating wasp. Using five sympatric dioecious fig
taxa and their pollinators, we examine the degree of pollinator sharing
and inter-taxa gene flow. We experimentally test pollinator preference for
floral volatiles, the main host recognition signal, from different figs.
All five fig taxa shared pollinators with other taxa and gene flow
occurred between fig taxa within and between sections. Floral volatiles of
each taxon attracted more than one pollinator species. Floral volatiles
were more similar between closely related figs, which experienced higher
levels of pollinator sharing and inter-taxa gene flow. This study
demonstrates that pollinator sharing and inter-taxa gene flow occurs among
closely related sympatric dioecious fig taxa and that pollinators choose
the floral volatiles of multiple fig taxa. The implications of pollinator
sharing and inter-taxa gene flow on diversification, occurring even in
this highly specialized obligate pollination system, requires further
study.