Origin and cross-century dynamics of an avian hybrid zone

BMC Evolutionary Biology

Research Article

Matthew D. Carling¹  Carlos Daniel Cadena²  Elkin A. Tenorio³  Andrea Morales-Rozo⁴ 

[1] Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA;Department of Zoology and Physiology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, USA;Laboratorio de Biología Evolutiva de Vertebrados, Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad de Los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia;Laboratorio de Biología Evolutiva de Vertebrados, Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad de Los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia;Calima: Fundación para la Investigación de la Biodiversidad y Conservación en el Trópico, Cali, Colombia;Laboratorio de Biología Evolutiva de Vertebrados, Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad de Los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia;Programa de Biología y Museo de Historia Natural, Universidad de los Llanos, Sede Barcelona, Villavicencio, Colombia;

关键词: Andes;    Cline;    Hill function;    Distribution modeling;    Hybridization;    Moving hybrid zone;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12862-017-1096-7

 received in 2017-04-12, accepted in 2017-11-27,  发布年份 2017

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundCharacterizations of the dynamics of hybrid zones in space and time can give insights about traits and processes important in population divergence and speciation. We characterized a hybrid zone between tanagers in the genus Ramphocelus (Aves, Thraupidae) located in southwestern Colombia. We evaluated whether this hybrid zone originated as a result of secondary contact or of primary differentiation, and described its dynamics across time using spatial analyses of molecular, morphological, and coloration data in combination with paleodistribution modeling.ResultsModels of potential historical distributions based on climatic data and genetic signatures of demographic expansion suggested that the hybrid zone likely originated following secondary contact between populations that expanded their ranges out of isolated areas in the Quaternary. Concordant patterns of variation in phenotypic characters across the hybrid zone and its narrow extent are suggestive of a tension zone, maintained by a balance between dispersal and selection against hybrids. Estimates of phenotypic cline parameters obtained using specimens collected over nearly a century revealed that, in recent decades, the zone appears to have moved to the east and to higher elevations, and may have become narrower. Genetic variation was not clearly structured along the hybrid zone, but comparisons between historical and contemporary specimens suggested that temporal changes in its genetic makeup may also have occurred.ConclusionsOur data suggest that the hybrid zone likey resulted from secondary contact between populations. The observed changes in the hybrid zone may be a result of sexual selection, asymmetric gene flow, or environmental change.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s). 2017