EVOLUTION OF GYNODIOECY AND MAINTENANCE OF FEMALES: THE ROLE OF INBREEDING DEPRESSION, OUTCROSSING RATES, AND RESOURCE ALLOCATION IN SCHIEDEA ADAMANTIS (CARYOPHYLLACEAE).

Levels of inbreeding depression, outcrossing rates, and phenotypic patterns of resource allocation were studied to examine their relative importance in the maintenance of high numbers of females in gynodioecious Schiedea adamantis (Caryophyllaceae), an endemic Hawaiian shrub found in a single population on Diamond Head Crater, Oahu. In studies of inbreeding depression in two greenhouse environments, families of hermaphrodites exhibited significant inbreeding depression (δ = 0.60), based on a multiplicative fitness function using seeds per capsule, germination, survival, and the inflorescence biomass of progeny.