DOI: 10.5061/dryad.3xsj3txt9
title: Developing together: The elementome and biogeochemical niche of the mutualistic occupants of a fig microcosm

description: 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 &gt;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.
description: # Developing together: The elementome and biogeochemical niche of the
 mutualistic occupants of a fig microcosm **Description:** This file
 provides details of the datasets accompanying the research article
 "Developing together: The elementome and biogeochemical niche of the
 mutualistic occupants of a fig microcosm". **Methods of data
 collection:** Details included in the research article **Files included:**
 The dataset includes three .csv files (I) **Biomass_allocation_data.csv**,
 collected between February and March 2021, has data on the number and mass
 of syconial occupants collected from two trees. The columns in the dataset
 are: * "Tree_id"=Tree identity * "Fig_no"=Fig syconium
 * "Bunch_no"=Bunch number * "Seeds_no"=Total number of
 seeds * "Galls_no"=Total number of pollinator galls *
 "Vacant_flo_no"=Number of unoccupied or vacant flowers *
 "FP_no"=Number of female pollinators * "MP_no"=Number
 of male pollinators * "Wall_mass"=Mass of syconial wall *
 "Seeds_mass"=Total mass of seeds * "Galls_mass"=Total
 mass of empty galls * "FP_mass"=Total mass of female pollinator
 wasps * "MP_mass"=Total mass of male pollinator wasps *
 "Vacant_flo_mass"=Mass of vacant flowers *
 "Male_flo_mass"=Mass of male flowers * "Bracts_mass"=
 Mass of ostiolar bracts * "Bladders_mass"=Mass of bladders
 (undeveloped galls) All the mass values are in mg. NA=Not available; NA in
 'Bunch_no' because a few syconia were found detached from the
 bunches; NA in case of pollinator numbers for one syconium, because wasps
 had exited before collection. (II) **Mass_Galls_Wasps.csv** contains data
 on the mass of galls and wasps from two trees. It includes: *
 "Tree_id"=Tree identity * "Date"=Date of sample
 collection * "Fig"=Fig syconium id * "Type"=Type of
 syconial component, i.e., galls/wasps/seeds * "Sex"= Sex of the
 gall occupant * "Numbers"=Number of galls, wasps, or seeds taken
 to measure mass * "Total_wet_wt"=Pooled wet mass *
 "Total_dry_wt"= Pooled dry mass All masses are in mg. Mass of
 galls is that of the empty galls after the wasps were dissected out.
 NA=Not applicable. (III) The **Elemental_analysis.csv** file contains data
 on concentrations of elements of different pooled syconial occupants. *
 "Exp_set"=Experimental set the syconia belong to *
 "Content"=Type of occupant, either seeds, male and female
 pollinators or syconial wall tissue * "Sample_Label"= Label on
 the sample * "Sample_No"=Sample number *
 "N_percent"=Percentage nitrogen * "N"= Concentration
 of nitrogen * "C_percent"=Percentage carbon *
 "C"=Concentration of carbon * "CN_ratio"=Carbon to
 nitrogen ratio * "S_percent"=Percentage Sulphur *
 "S"=Concentration of Sulphur * "Mg"=Magnesium *
 "K"=Potassium * "Ca"= Calcium * "Zn"=Zinc *
 "P"=Phosphorus All element concentrations are in ug/g. The
 "Content_detail" column adds more details on the contents and
 indicates whether the seed samples were with or without seed cover or
 achenes.