Input - Genetic Diversity in Establishing Plant Populations: Founder Number and Geometry - page 31

is not selected to die will be occupying safe sites and preventing new
establishment at that grid point, and thus can affect population growth
and genetic diversity retention trajectories.
Note that the pollination rate is relative. For a given age x, the y number
indicates the relative probability of pollen contribution by individuals of a
cohort of that age. When the same y values are set for all x's (e.g., setting all
to 0, or all to 30), all ages are equal contributors. If y values differ across the
ages of individuals, then for a given age x, the relative pollen contribution
rate is:
y for members of a cohort of that given age/the maximum y given when
considering all possible cohort ages.
To keep it simple, we recommend that the maximum relative probability
assigned to any cohort age be given a value of y = 1 as shown above. Once
a pollen donor is selected to mate with a particular female, the allelic
constitution of the male gamete contributed is determined at random for
each locus dependent on the alleles present in that microgamete donor.
A male parent could, just by random chance, participate in all or
none of the matings with eligible producing females within its specifi ed
microgamete dispersal distance. For example, a given male may participate
in a disproportionately large number of matings if there are few, or no other,
males within range of several females. Thus, while the total number of
matings for females is either the same, or is variable around a mean defi ned
by the “bracket” or “Poisson” options for female offspring production
(options described below), males vary in a different random manner in the
degree to which they contribute to matings from run to run. However, as
density increases, propagule dispersal to occupied grid points increases, and
thus variability in females that produce realized offspring will increase, as
will success of pollen donation. Further, if a female is selected for a mating
but there are no males within pollen dispersal distance (see below), then
such an event will be tallied as a reproductive event for that female, and
for that population generation, but no offspring will be produced from that
particular event.
In the case where a user sets the pollen donation rate to 0 for all age
intervals, pollination via selfi ng according to the user-established selfi ng
rate is still allowed. Thus, while it appears from the pollen rate statement
that no pollination should occur, and no offspring should be produced,
offspring may still be produced by self matings according to the selfi ng
rate specifi ed.