figsimR : An R Package for Simulating Fig–Wasp Community Dynamics
Dong, Y., Segar, S.T. and Weng, Q. (2026) figsimR : An R Package for Simulating Fig–Wasp Community Dynamics. Ecology and Evolution, 16 (7). ISSN 2045-7758
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S Segar FigsimR An R package OCR UPLOAD.pdf - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution. Download (5MB) | Preview |
Abstract
ABSTRACT Fig–fig wasp systems represent a widely applicable but underutilized framework for community assembly research, yet their multi‐trophic structure and species interactions substantially increase the complexity of community simulation. We present figsimR, an open‐source, modular R package that implements fig wasp community simulation via a single high‐level function, simulate_figwasp_community() , with controllable mechanisms and reproducible workflows. The simulation runs at the individual‐fig level and records species‐specific wasp activity and outcomes, including but not limited to egg production, host‐specific parasitism, final fig wasp emergence, seed production, flower availability, and ovule‐resource use within each fig. The package also provides functions for calculating commonly used diversity and community‐summary metrics, allowing fig‐level community outputs to support downstream comparison and model diagnostics. We demonstrate a typical workflow—parameter setup, simulation, and metric calculation—on fig wasp communities associated with Ficus racemosa as a worked example using an agent‐based model that integrates documented biological traits and available data for this system. We also show how the package can be used to assess a baseline model's goodness‐of‐fit and to dissect the asymmetric contributions of individual processes (e.g., ovule‐layer stratification and alternative fig‐retention rules, including host‐sanction and sink strength) using the built‐in “mechanism knockout” framework (allowing to quantify the contribution for each mechanism in community assembly). Including both mean fit and variance coverage as joint diagnostics, reveals mean–variance trade‐offs across mechanisms. Although the worked example is parameterized for F. racemosa in this study, figsimR is not restricted to a single Ficus species. Users can adapt the framework to other Ficus –fig wasp systems by supplying necessary biological parameters. figsimR, therefore, provides a reproducible and extensible tool for evaluating how far known biological mechanisms can explain observed community properties.
| Item Type: | Article |
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| Keywords: | community assembly, fig wasps, mechanistic model, simulation, species interaction |
| Depositing User: | Mrs Rachael Giles |
| Date Deposited: | 06 Aug 2026 15:25 |
| Last Modified: | 06 Aug 2026 15:25 |
| URI: | https://hau.repository.guildhe.ac.uk/id/eprint/18411 |
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