Inbreeding depression can lower individual fitness and cause the extinction of populations. As a result, it is of interest to evolutionary biologists and conservationists alike. Studies have shown that inbreeding depression can increase in stressful environments. However, most of these studies do not utilize natural environmental stress. In a recent article published in AoB PLANTS, Hereford tested how natural environmental stress from transplanting into foreign habitats influences inbreeding depression. While there was significant inbreeding depression, there was no difference in inbreeding depression between plants in their native environment versus foreign habitats. These results imply that inbreeding depression does not increase when environmental stress reflects natural variation.
