Species‐specific habitat preferences do not shape the structure of a crested newt hybrid zone (Triturus cristatus x T. carnifex)

Ecology and Evolution

Zdeněk Mačát¹  Martin Rulík¹  Stanislav Rada¹  Peter Mikulíček²  Daniel Jablonski²  Lenka Jeřábková³  Antonín Reiter⁴ 

[1] Department of Ecology and Environmental Sciences Palacky University Olomouc Czech Republic;Department of Zoology Comenius University Bratislava Slovakia;Nature Conservation Agency of the Czech Republic Praha Czech Republic;South Moravian Museum in Znojmo Znojmo Czech Republic;

关键词: amphibia;    hybridization;    microsatellites;    mtDNA;    reproductive isolation barrier;    Salamandridae;   

DOI  :  10.1002/ece3.5683

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Abstract Reproductive isolation barriers maintain the integrity of species by preventing interspecific gene flow. They involve temporal, habitat or behavioral isolation acting before fertilization, and postzygotic isolation manifested as hybrid mortality or sterility. One of the approaches of how to study reproductive isolation barriers is through the analysis of hybrid zones. In this paper, we describe the structure of a hybrid zone between two crested newt species (Triturus cristatus and T. carnifex) in the southern part of the Czech Republic using morphological, microsatellite, and mitochondrial (mtDNA) markers. Specifically, we tested the hypothesis that the structure of the hybrid zone is maintained by species‐specific habitat preferences. Comparing the genetic structure of populations with geographical and ecological parameters, we found that the hybrid zone was structured primarily geographically, with T. cristatus‐like populations occurring in the northeast and T. carnifex‐like populations in the southwest. Despite T. cristatus tending to occur in deeper ponds and T. carnifex on localities with more shading, the effect of both ecological parameters on the structure of the zone was minimal. Next, we corroborated that T. carnifex individuals and some hybrids possess mtDNA of T. dobrogicus, whose nuclear background was not detected in the studied hybrid zone. Hybridization between T. carnifex and T. dobrogicus (resulting in unidirectional mtDNA introgression) had to predate subsequent formation of the hybrid zone between T. cristatus and T. carnifex. Populations of crested newts in the southern part of the Czech Republic thus represent a genetic mosaic of nuclear and mitochondrial genomes of three species.

【 授权许可】

Unknown