Hybridization and adaptive mate choice in flycatchers

Hybridization in natural populations is strongly selected against when hybrid offspring have reduced fitness. Here we show that, paradoxically, pairing with another species may offer the best fitness return for an individual, despite reduced fitness of hybrid offspring. Two mechanisms reduce the cos...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature (London) 2001-05, Vol.411 (6833), p.45-50
Main Authors: Sheldon, Ben C, Veen, Thor, Borge, Thomas, Griffith, Simon C, Saetre, Glenn-Peter, Bures, Stanislav, Gustafsson, Lars
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adaptation, Physiological
Animal and plant ecology
Animal behavior
Animal reproduction
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Animals
Autoecology
Aves
Biological and medical sciences
Birds
Breeding success
Female
Fertility
Ficedula albicollis
Ficedula hypoleuca
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Humanities and Social Sciences
Hybridization
Hybridization, Genetic
Male
multidisciplinary
Natural populations
Offspring
Reproduction
Science
Science (multidisciplinary)
Sexual Behavior, Animal
Songbirds - genetics
Songbirds - physiology
Species Specificity
Vertebrata
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Summary:Hybridization in natural populations is strongly selected against when hybrid offspring have reduced fitness. Here we show that, paradoxically, pairing with another species may offer the best fitness return for an individual, despite reduced fitness of hybrid offspring. Two mechanisms reduce the costs to female collared flycatchers of pairing with male pied flycatchers. A large proportion of young are sired by conspecific male collared flycatchers through extra-pair copulations, and there is a bias in favour of male offspring (which, unlike females, are fertile) within hybrid pairs. In combination with temporal variation in breeding success, these cost-reducing mechanisms yield quantitative predictions about when female collared flycatchers should accept a male pied flycatcher as a mate; empirical data agree with these predictions. Apparent hybridization may thus represent adaptive mate choice under some circumstances.
ISSN:0028-0836
1476-4687
DOI:10.1038/35075000