Suturing fragmented landscapes: Mosaic hybrid zones in plants may facilitate ecosystem resiliency

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
By: , and 

Metrics

1
Crossref references
Web analytics dashboard Metrics definitions

Links

Abstract

Many widespread plant taxa of western North America have diversified into phenotypically and genetically divergent lineages due to complex biogeographic histories across heterogeneous landscapes. Mosaic hybrid zones can form when geographically co-occurring, yet environmentally distinct, lineages cross-pollinate and form hybrids that occupy unique environmental niches absent of a geographic cline. This expands the total environmental space across which parental and hybrid individuals grow, resulting in larger, less fragmented geographic distributions. Here, we highlight hybridization mosaics across three study systems containing taxa critical to widespread plant communities in western North America: Ericameria nauseosaArtemisia tridentata, and Sphaeralcea fendleri. The systems contain diverged taxa that co-occur across the landscape and hybridize readily. Hybridization among taxa has facilitated niche expansion into intermediate environments consistent with unique combinations of adaptive genetic variation, creating more continuity within each study system—study systems occupy ~820 to 270,000 km2 more geographic area by virtue of hybridization. Furthermore, hybrids are predicted to play important roles in future climates, as they may occupy 8 to 475% larger distributions compared to present. Convergent patterns signal mosaic hybridization as an underappreciated mechanism with broad ecological and evolutionary ramifications. Leveraging mosaic hybridization may assist the creation of restoration management plans that aim to mitigate the deleterious effects of habitat fragmentation on ecosystems in the context of climate change.

Study Area

Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title Suturing fragmented landscapes: Mosaic hybrid zones in plants may facilitate ecosystem resiliency
Series title Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
DOI 10.1073/pnas.2410941122
Volume 122
Issue 31
Publication Date July 28, 2025
Year Published 2025
Language English
Publisher National Academy of Sciences
Contributing office(s) Southwest Biological Science Center
Description e2410941122, 8p.
Country United States
Other Geospatial western United States
Additional publication details