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Climate change affects precipitation patterns and seasonal temperatures and disrupts the development and distribution of organisms. In the obligate mutualism between Ficus trees (Moraceae) and fig wasps (Hymenoptera: Agaonidae), the trees live mostly in the tropics and rely on short-lived pollinators, and climate change challenges this relationship. In this study, a 25-month phenological survey of Ficus subpisocarpa and Ficus caulocarpa, closely related sympatric Ficus species with different suitable development areas, was conducted in tropical southern Taiwan. The effects of temperature-related meteorological factors were analyzed and compared with data obtained previously for trees in northern Taiwan to identify possible phenological trends caused by climate change. The results revealed that the phenological characteristics of the two Ficus in southern Taiwan are similar to those in northern Taiwan; however, the trees exhibited stronger correlations with meteorological factors in northern Taiwan. In southern Taiwan, the onset of fig crops for the two species was not related to any meteorological variable, and the trees produced figs throughout the year. The leaf changing in southern Taiwan followed no seasonal pattern, and only the renewal of leaves in F. subpisocarpa trees was linked to seasonal increases in temperature. The lowest temperature in northern Taiwan might effect F. subpisocarpa and F. caulocarpa trees to drop their leaves at the same period. Fig trees are likely resilient to climate change and can maintain their mutualism in a warming climate in the near future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Asthma is a common chronic disease in children. Its prevalence in Taiwan has been increasing every year. Because repeated asthma attacks are life threatening, primary caregivers who take care of children with asthma may experience extremely high levels of stress. This study used qualitative research methods to identify the sources of caregiver stress. Eighteen primary caregivers were interviewed individually, and 12 were interviewed through focus-group discussions. Using data obtained from a literature review and the respondents' caregiver experiences, authors summarized and categorized stressors as physiologic, psychological, intellectual, and social. Primary caregivers taking care of children with asthma paid more attention to household cleaning; this was the biggest physiologic stressor. The biggest psychological stressor was coping with the life-threatening nature of asthma attacks, and the biggest intellectual stressor was drug safety. The close family ties of Chinese culture impose heavy social stress on primary caregivers, as does the schools' refusal to provide adequate asthma care. Further studies are warranted to investigate coping strategies for caregiver stress and to provide useful and relevant recommendations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The genus Ficus is unique in that it has a closed inflorescence (fig) holding all of the flowers inside its cavity, which is isolated from the outside world by a fleshy barrier: the fig wall. The fig wall is the main structure of the fig, giving its shape, but the wall has also important ecological functions such as protection of fig seeds and fig wasp larvae. Nevertheless, the fig wall anatomy is poorly understood. This study aims to examine the fig wall anatomy of 22 Ficus taxa (21 species, one species having two varieties) in Taiwan to reveal the diversity in anatomy of the fig wall. We found that these 21 fig species exhibited a great variety in fig wall anatomy, from the simplest parenchymatic wall to complex fig walls. The walls of the figs from 12 sampled taxa developed aerenchyma and sclerenchyma formations whereas seven taxa had fig walls containing tanniferous cells. Five anatomical types of fig walls have been identified according to the presence or absence of the different differentiated tissues. These types are distributed among the Ficus subgenera. Further studies on tissue differentiations of the fig wall should be investigated in other Ficus species as well as the ecological functions of the fig wall. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: While Ficus present a series of traits often associated with dioecy, the prevalence of dioecy in Ficus is atypical. In Asian floras, dioecious Ficus species generally outnumber monoecious ones. Further this is also true in relatively northerly locations for Ficus such as the island of Taiwan. Ficus are pollinated by species-specific wasps that use fig flowers as breeding sites. In dioecious fig species, pollinators develop only in the inflorescences of male fig trees. In this study, we investigated the reproductive phenology of four dioecious Ficus species with distinct ecologies in several locations in northern and southern Taiwan. The two first species (Ficus erecta and Ficus septica) were investigated in four locations. Reproductive phenology was quite different among sites, even within a single species. For example, F. erecta presented well-defined crops at the population level in its usual high-elevation habitat but continuous fig production at low elevations, especially in South Taiwan. The two other fig species (Ficus pedunculosa var. mearnsii and Ficus tinctoria subsp. swinhoei), are shrubs growing together along seashores in exposed locations on coral reef remnants. These two species presented quite different traits allowing the survival of pollinating wasp populations. Ficus pedunculosa var. mearnsii produced figs continuously so that fresh receptive figs were always available for the pollinating wasps while F. tinctoria subsp. swinhoei extended the period of receptivity of its figs, so that receptive figs that had been waiting for pollinating wasps were almost always available. In summary, dioecious figs in Taiwan showed remarkable variation in their phenology, within species among locations or among species within location. Nevertheless, despite this variation, the phenology of the trees always allowed survival of pollinating wasp populations. Dioecious figs seem to have adopted a differentiated set of strategies which result in high resilience of pollinator populations. This resilience could help explain the atypical prevalence of dioecy in Ficus. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]