DEVELOPMENTAL INSTABILITY IN GYNODIOECIOUS TEUCRIUM-LUSITANICUM

Developmental instability was assessed in two geographical races of Te ucrium lusitanicum using morphometric measures of vegetative and repro ductive structures. T. lusitanicum is a gynodioecious species. Male st erile (female) individuals showed greater developmental instability at all sites. Plants located inland had higher developmental instability of vegetative characters and lower developmental instability of repro ductive characters than coastal plants. These results support the cont entions that (1) developmental instability is affected more by the dis ruption of co-adapted gene complexes than by lower heterozygosity, and (2) different habitat characteristics result in the differential resp onse of vegetative and reproductive structures.