Abstract
Mating systems describe the circumstances in which sexual reproduction occurs within species. The study of mating systems has focused on classification; in plants based on floral morphologies that prevent or encourage selfing, and in animals based on mate numbers, usually obtained by males. A unified approach to mating system analysis emphasizes the measurement of evolutionary forces responsible for shaping reproductive phenology and breeding phenotypes. This empirical approach merges the study of plant and animal mating systems, and accommodates studies of fungal and protist mating systems, by focusing research questions on measurable evolutionary processes rather than on presumed evolutionary outcomes.
Original language | English (US) |
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Title of host publication | Encyclopedia of Ecology |
Publisher | Elsevier |
Pages | 274-283 |
Number of pages | 10 |
ISBN (Electronic) | 9780444641304 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jan 1 2018 |
Keywords
- Fitness variance
- Genetic correlations
- Imates
- Mate choice
- Mate numbers
- Opportunity for selection
- Sex differences
- Sex ratio
- Sexual dimorphism
- Sexual selection
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Environmental Science