Analysis of paternity within a natural population of Chamaelirium luteum. II. Patterns of male reproductive success

Male reproductive success in plant populations can be influenced by resources invested in reproductive effort, competition for mating opportunities, and the quality of female mates available. I analyzed the relationship between such ecological factors and male success within a single large population of the dioecious plant Chamaelirium luteum. Male reproductive success had been determined in a previous study using genetic likelihoods of paternity. In the present analysis, no apparent relationship was found between male size (indicative of reproductive effort) and paternal success. An alternating pattern of negative and positive spatial autocorrelation in success was found for the first through tenth nearest neighbors, suggesting local competition among males for matings. Availability of females, as reflected in localized sex ratios, had little influence on male success. Finally, the size of local females, which could limit male success by limiting the total possible seed output, was not related to male success.