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Functional extinction is the extinction of a species or other taxon such that:
In plant populations, self-incompatibility mechanisms may cause related plant specimens to be incompatible, which may lead to functional extinction if an entire population becomes self-incompatible. This does not occur in larger populations.
In polygynous populations, where only a few males leave offspring, there is a much smaller reproducing population than if all viable males were considered. Furthermore, the successful males act as a genetic bottleneck, leading to more rapid genetic drift or inbreeding problems in small populations.