No relationship between fluctuating asymmetry and fitness in Lychnis viscaria

Abstract

Several earlier studies have indicated a negative relationship between fluctuating asymmetry (FA) and fitness. We tested this assumption by investigating the association between petal asymmetry and several fitness-related characters among natural and common garden populations of Lychnis viscaria. Neither seed set, germination percentage nor the growth rate of seedlings were related to the level of flower asymmetry either among natural populations or in common garden conditions. The only significant association found was a positive connection between petal asymmetry and seed mass measured from natural populations. Thus, in contrary to many earlier published reports, we did not find any evidence for a negative relationship between FA and fitness even if we controlled for measurement error, we had adequate sample size and we measured these characters in two environments. This suggests that FA is not consistently related to individual quality and fitness.