THE ACCUMULATION OF REPRODUCTIVE BARRIERS DURING SPECIATION: POSTMATING BARRIERS IN TWO BEHAVIORALLY ISOLATED SPECIES OF DARTERS (PERCIDAE: ETHEOSTOMA)

Identifying the manner in which reproductive barriers accumulate during lineage divergence is central to establishing general principles of species formation. One outstanding question is which isolating mechanisms form the first complete barrier to gene flow in a given lineage or under a particular...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Evolution 2007-11, Vol.61 (11), p.2596-2606
Main Authors: Mendelson, Tamra C, Imhoff, Vance E, Venditti, Jennifer J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal reproduction
Animals
Behavioral isolation
Biological Evolution
Birds
conspecific sperm precedence
Divergent evolution
Etheostoma
Evolution
Female
Fertilization
Freshwater
Gametes
gametic incompatibility
Genetic Variation
Geography
hybrid inviability
Hybridity
Hybridization, Genetic
Male
Male animals
Original s
Ova
Perches - genetics
Perches - physiology
Percidae
Population Dynamics
Reproduction - genetics
Reproduction - physiology
reproductive isolation
Reproductive success
Selection, Genetic
Sexual Behavior, Animal
Speciation
Species Specificity
Spermatozoa
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Summary:Identifying the manner in which reproductive barriers accumulate during lineage divergence is central to establishing general principles of species formation. One outstanding question is which isolating mechanisms form the first complete barrier to gene flow in a given lineage or under a particular set of conditions. To identify these initial reproductive barriers requires examining lineages in very early stages of divergence, before multiple reproductive barriers have evolved to completion. We quantified the strength of three postmating barriers in a pair of darter species and compared these estimates to each other and to the strength of behavioral isolation (BI) reported in a previous study. Results reveal no evidence of gametic incompatibility but intermediate levels of conspecific sperm precedence and hybrid inviability. As BI is nearly complete, our analysis comparing the strength of multiple reproductive barriers implicates the evolution of mate choice as central to both the origin and maintenance of these species. Further examination of ecological isolation and hybrid sterility is necessary to determine the role of these barriers in darter speciation.
ISSN:0014-3820
1558-5646
DOI:10.1111/j.1558-5646.2007.00220.x