| Citation | Spencer Barrett is a leading authority on the ecology and genetics of plant reproduction, having made major contributions to our understanding of floral evolution, and the selective mechanisms responsible for the evolution and breakdown of heterostyly. He has provided the first experimental evidence for the selective purging of deleterious genes following inbreeding, and for the role of genetic drift in initiating adaptive changes in reproductive traits. Recently he demonstrated that self-fertilization in plants involves hidden costs associated with reduced male fertility, which has important implications for functional interpreations of the evolution of diverse reproductive traits. He is an internationally recognised expert on the ecology and genetics of plant invasions. |