Abstract: Aims Understanding how ecological communities assemble is crucial for biodiversity conservation. However, related studies face challenges due to complex species composition and unclear community boundaries etc.. The fig–fig wasp system, with the its enclosed inflorescence (syconium) hosting specialized wasp species, provides a simplified model to study assembly mechanisms. This study examines how dispersal and selection processes shape fig wasp communities and evaluates this system's potential for broader ecological research. Methods This study monitored the dispersal rhythm and measured the ovipositor length of 7 fig wasp species in Ficus auriculata. Fig wasp community composition was collected and analyzed the relationship between species abundance and traits related to dispersal or oviposition selection.. Important findings The dispersal process of fig wasp foundress significantly affected the species abundance of the offspring wasp community: Pollinater Ceratosolen emarginatus is dominance in both dispersal foundress and offspring abundance. Non-pollinating wasp Sycoscapter roxburghi ranks second, while Platyneura sp.1, Platyneura sp.2, and Philotrypesis sp. show relatively low dispersal foundress and offspring abundance. The dispersal strength of fig wasp foundress increased offspring numbers, but no significant priority effects were observed.; The oviposition related traits of fig wasps also significantly affected the number of offsprings: Pollinators (ovipositing inside fig) had higher offspring abundance than non-pollinators (ovipositing outside fig), and longer ovipositors in non-pollinators correlated with increased offspring production in fig wasp communities. This study provides empirical evidences support the role of both dispersal and selection processes in community assembly, and further explores the potential value of the fig wasp community as a new model system for studying community assembly mechanisms.

Key words: Ficus auriculata, fig wasp community, community assembly, dispersal, selection