Question

What criteria would you use to assess the reproductive success of a plant?

Answer 1

Reproductive success is defined as the passing of genes onto the next generation in a way that they too can pass on those genes. This is not solely the number of offspring produced by an individual, but also, as Ronald Fisher outlined in 1915, the probable reproductive success of those offspring, making mate choice (a form of sexual selection) an important factor in this success,[1] making biological fitness a key element in the theories of natural selection and evolution.