Does mate choice play a role in the fertilization ecology of free-spawners?

植物学家早就认识到配偶之间的差异兼容性对育种计划和农业的影响。在重要的水产养殖物种中，如鲍鱼和海胆，在配偶相容性方面也观察到类似的变化，但目前的理论很难解释这种变化及其后果。我已经确定了对这种变化的一种新的解释，并将使用一种海洋无脊椎动物来测试这一解释，这是一种全球研究的模型系统。一个积极的结果为解释雌性如何在自由产卵的物种中“选择”配偶以及解释这种配偶选择的后果提供了希望。

Botanists have long recognised the consequences of differential compatibility between mates for breeding programs and agriculture. In important aquaculture species such as abalone and sea-urchins, similar variation in mate compatibility has been observed but current theory struggles to explain this variation and its consequences. I have identified a new explanation for this variation and will test this explanation using a marine invertebrate that is a model system for study around the world. A positive result offers promise of explaining how females 'select' mates in free-spawning species and explaining the consequence of this mate selection.