Asymmetric mate preference and reproductive interference mediate climate-induced changes in mate availability in a small mammal hybrid zone
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Abstract
Range expansion and contraction are among the most common biotic responses to changing environmental conditions, yet much is to be learned about the mechanisms that underlie range-edge population dynamics, especially when those areas are points of secondary contact between closely related species. Here, we present field-measured parentage data that document the reproductive outcomes of changes in mate availability at a secondary contact zone between two species of woodrat in the genus Neotoma. Changes in mate availability resulted from drought-driven differential survival between the species and their hybrids. As the availability of conspecifc mates declined, rates of hybridization increased, leading to the accumulation of admixed individuals in the zone of contact. Patterns of reproductive success in the wild appear to be the result of a combination of both pre-mating isolation and post-zygotic selection resulting from genomic incompatibilities between the parental lineages. Evidence of asymmetric mate preference between the parental lineages came from both skewed reproductive output in the field and laboratory preference trials. Moreover, partial genomic incompatibility was evident from the near-zero reproductive success of F1 males and because nearly all surviving hybrids had one pure parent. Nonetheless, the high reproductive success of F1 females and backcrossing in both parental directions allow for introgression between the parental species. These findings reveal how climate change may alter evolutionary outcomes for species at the edge of their ranges through an interplay of behavioral, demographic, and genetic mechanisms.
Study Area
Publication type | Article |
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Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
Title | Asymmetric mate preference and reproductive interference mediate climate-induced changes in mate availability in a small mammal hybrid zone |
Series title | Evolution |
DOI | 10.1093/evolut/qpae110 |
Year Published | 2024 |
Language | English |
Publisher | Oxford University Press |
Contributing office(s) | Coop Res Unit Leetown |
Description | qpae110, 13 p. |
Country | United States |
State | California |
Other Geospatial | Camp Roberts Military reservation |
Google Analytic Metrics | Metrics page |