Sex Allocation - The Fundamental Problems of Sex Allocation Are As Follows (Charnov 1982; West 2009)

The Fundamental Problems of Sex Allocation Are As Follows (Charnov 1982; West 2009)

  1. Under what conditions are sequential hermaphroditism, simultaneous hermaphroditism or dioecy evolutionary stable (ES)? When is a mixture of sexual types stable, such as in gynodioecious plant populations, which contain both simultaneous hermaphrodites and females?
  2. For a dioecious species, should the sex of the offspring be determined by the mother, the environment (environmental sex determination), or randomly (chromosomal sex determination)?
  3. Given dioecy, what is the ES offspring sex ratio to produce, defined as the proportion of males in a brood?
  4. For a sequential hermaphrodite, what is the ES sex order (male or female first) and time of sex change?
  5. For a simultaneous hermaphrodite, what is the equilibrium allocation of resources to male and female reproduction?
  6. For all breeding systems, when does selection favour the ability of an individual to alter its allocation to male versus female function in response to particular environmental conditions.

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