DOI: 10.5061/dryad.547d7wmjw
title: Data from: Inflorescence size predicts host-symbiont conflict in monoecious fig-wasp mutualisms

description: In monoecious fig-wasp mutualisms (Ficus; ~350 spp.), tiny wasps
 obligately pollinate fig-tree inflorescences (‘figs’). Although
 pollination enables seed production wasp symbionts also oviposit into
 flowers, replacing potential seeds with wasp offspring. Consistently
 across Ficus, ~40-60% of developed flowers produce
 seeds. Although several processes are likely involved, a general
 explanation for why wasps do not exploit more flowers has been elusive.
 However, inter-specific scaling between host-symbiont reproductive traits
 suggests that as figs become larger across Ficus, the increase in
 wasp-eggs-per pollen-receptive fig will fail to match the increase in
 flower numbers. The potential for wasps to exploit hosts should thus
 decline due to an increasing excess of flowers. We tested these
 predictions, which were upheld, using data from 23 fig-wasp mutualisms
 from four continents. As fig size increases across Ficus, wasp
 egg-to-flower ratios, a measure of host-symbiont conflict-of-interest,
 declines, but the likelihood of a wasp egg successfully becoming an adult
 offspring increases. Host-symbiont conflict-of-interest thus varies
 systematically across Ficus due to variable relationships between
 key mutualist reproductive traits and fig size. We suggest that mutualism
 stability is more dependent upon mechanisms curtailing wasp flower
 exploitation in systems with small figs, and on preventing high foundress
 numbers in those with large figs.
description: Methods are detailed in the published paper.
description: # Inflorescence size predicts host-symbiont conflict in monoecious
 fig-wasp mutualisms
 [https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.547d7wmjw](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.547d7wmjw) ## Description of the data and file structure For all data sheets, please also refer to the Supplementary Methods. This gives details of data used in the publication that were obtained from literature sources. **Head-width_all** * **Fig species** – Ficus species to which the wasp species is associated * **Location** – sampling location (see Table S1). * **Headwmm** – headwidth in millimeters (see Supplementary Methods). **Flowers_all** *  **Fig species** – Ficus spcies from which flowers were counted -  **Locality** – sampling location (see Table S1). *  **Flowers** – number of flowers within a fig (see Supplementary Methods). NB – for F. insipda, F. yoponensis, F. paraensis, F. burkei, F. burt-davyi, F. sur and F. racemosa, data were obtained from literature sources, which are given here. References are provided in full in the Supplementary Methods **Foundress_all** * **Species** – Ficus species from which foundress wasps within figs were counted (see Supplementary Methods). - **Figno** – individual fig for each species from which foundresses were counted * **Foundress** – number of foundresses per fig NB – see Supplementary Methods for references for foundress data taken from the literature. **Fig_size_all** * **Species** – Ficus species from which fig size data were measured. - **Fig** – individual fig for each species from which size data were obtained. * **Figl** – fig length (cm). See Supplementary Methods for details. - **Figw** – fig width (cm). See Supplementary Methods for details. * **Figvol** – fig volume (ml). See Supplementary Methods for details. **Eggs_all** * **Location** – location from which figs, and hence wasps, were collected - **Host** – Ficus host species * **Waspspp** – wasp species from which egg count data were obtained - **Eggs** – numbers of wasp eggs present within each sampled wasp