Diverging sex ratios in dioecious Proteaceae are exacerbated by anthropogenic disruptions to the fire cycle

Our results suggest that females experience higher reproductive costs which contribute to increased female mortality over time, resulting in male-biased sex ratios in older populations. Anthropogenic fire suppression likely contributes to this trend by allowing populations to survive beyond the natural fire-return interval for fynbos vegetation. These altered population dynamics could undermine long-term population viability and ecosystem stability in fire-adapted dioecious Proteaceae of the fynbos.