| Abstract: | Outcrossing rates varied from 0% to 69% among Jamaican populations of Turnera ulmifolia. A correlation between increasing herkogamy and outcrossing rate occurred among populations. Predictions from sex-allocation theory were tested by estimating allocation to reproductive functions. Significant differences in allocation patterns occurred among populations, but they were not correlated with outcrossing rates. The fitness consequences of inbreeding were assessed in high- and low-density greenhouse experiments for nine populations with variable outcrossing rates. No evidence for inbreeding depression occurred in early portions of the life history, but multiplicative fitness functions provide evidence for inbreeding depression. We tested the prediction that selfing populations have lower levels of inbreeding depression than outcrossing populations but found no significant correlation. |
