Mating Systems and Evolutionary Genetics

Abstract

In population genetics random mating among individuals has traditionally been assumed. Obviously, however, many plant species (and some invertebrates) have mating systems with a high proportion of self-fertilization and possibly other mating types between close relatives. On the other hand, an extensive survey of natural populations of birds and mammals by Ralls et al. (1986) found little evidence of mating among relatives except for a few species, suggesting that random mating may be a reasonable approximation for most cases in these animals. Therefore, I will concentrate in this chapter on inbreeding mating systems in plants.

... mating systems indeed hold a key place in the study of plant populations.... In this connection four points need stressing. First, reliable estimates of mating system parameters are a fundamental prerequisite of plant studies. Second, we need to go beyond the simple dichotomy of inbreeders vs. outbreeders by making allowance for the complexity of the diverse mating systems of different plant species.... Third, mating systems are flexible in space and in time, and such variation is likely to have profound effects on the genetic structure of populations.... Fourth, variation in mating systems is subject to genetic control, and mating systems themselves evolve.

Brown (1979)