Individual mating patterns in mixed oak stands

Individual variation in mating patterns may have significant implications for persistence and adaptation of plant populations, but field data generally focus on population averages. Using a Bayesian approach, Chybicki and Burczyk examine the extent of individual variation of several components of mating patterns in a mixed stand of Quercus robur and Q. petraea. They find that there is a great variation in intra- and inter-specific individual mating preferences, individual pollen immigration rates and heterogeneity of immigrating pollen. They show that trees can mate assortatively, with little respect to spatial proximity. Such selective mating may be a result of variable compatibility among trees due to genetic and/or environmental factors.