Interpopulation variation in inbreeding is primarily driven by tolerance of mating with relatives in a spermcasting invertebrate.

ABSTRACT: The degree to which individuals inbreed is a fundamental aspect of population biology shaped by both passive and active processes. Yet, the relative influences of random and non-random mating on the overall magnitude of inbreeding are not well characterized for many taxa. We quantified variation in inbreeding among qualitatively accessible and isolated populations of a sessile marine invertebrate (the colonial ascidian Lissoclinum verrilli) in which hermaphroditic colonies cast sperm into the water column for subsequent uptake and internal fertilization. We compared estimates of inbreeding to simulations predicting random mating within sites to evaluate if levels of inbreeding were (1) less than expected because of active attempts to limit inbreeding, (2) as predicted by genetic subdivisio

SUBMITTER: Olsen KC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10098478 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature