Heterogeneity in local density allows a positive evolutionary relationship between self-fertilisation and dispersal

Despite empirical evidence for a positive relationship between dispersal and self-fertilisation (selfing), theoretical work predicts that these traits should always be negatively correlated, and the Good Coloniser Syndrome of high dispersal and selfing (Cf. Baker’s Law) should not evolve. Critically, previous work assumes that adult density is spatiotemporally homogeneous, so selfing results in identical offspring production for all patches, eliminating the benefit of dispersal for escaping from local resource competition. We investigate the joint evolution of dispersal and selfing in a demographically structured metapopulation model where local density is spatiotemporally heterogeneous due to extinction-recolonisation dynamics. Selfing alleviates outcrossing failure due to low local density (an Allee Effect) while dispersal alleviates competition through dispersal of propagules from high- to low-density patches. Because local density is spatiotemporally heterogenous in our model, sel...