Crossbreed vitality in interpopulation crosses accompanied by a fall within the F
For Sh. cordifolia, trends observed among treatments for seed germination rate and seedling height suggest hybrid vigor or luxuriance in progeny derived from between-forest crosses. This finding is tentative, however, due to the small sample sizes involved with the between-forest crosses for the seed germination and later stages. Hybrid vigor in Fstep one progeny is consistent with the model for outbreeding depression through the disruption of coadapted gene complexes. According to this model, F1 hybrid vigor results from increased heterozygosity, with subsequent hybrid breakdown in the Fdos generation from the disruption of parental genomes during F1 gametogenesis (Templeton, 1986). It remains to be seen whether hybrid vigor can occur at some level of genetic differentiation between mates without subsequent F2 breakdown (Shields, 1982). 2 fitness has been reported for several herbaceous species (e.g., Clausen, 1951; Kruckeberg, 1957; Vickery, 1959; Grant and Grant, 1960; Gottlieb, 1971; Grant, 1971; Hughes and Vickery, 1974; Price and Waser, 1979). In woody angiosperms, hybrid vigor in interpopulation crosses has been documented for at least one species, Syzygium cormiflorum, a subcanopy species of Australia’s rainforests (Crome and Irvine, 1986). Continue Reading