Presentation Details
| Latent preference for red ornamentation overrides existing preferences and blurs species boundaries Lin Yan1, Noah J.Huh1, Ian Ashton2, Daniel Ibañez1, 3, Malcolm F.Rosenthal1, 4, Marshal Hedin2, Damian O.Elias1. 1University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California, USA.2San Diego State University, San Diego, California, USA.3University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, USA.4Columbia University, New York, New York, USA |
Abstract
Mate choice can act as a barrier or bridge between species. Using experimental and field data, we examined mate choice in the Habronattus americanus subgroup to understand mating patterns between two closely related species with divergent courtship but with evidence of past introgression. Simulated secondary contact in the lab between H. americanus (red phenotype) and H. sansoni (brown phenotype) revealed an overall female preference for red coloration that, for H. sansoni, overrides existing preferences for conspecific courtship displays and phenotypes. Sampling of a hybrid zone between another pair of species, H. americanus and H. kubai (brown phenotype) showed patterns consistent with an overall preference for red phenotypes, including a predominance of red phenotypes and a negative relationship between red coloration and courtship phenotypes. These results suggest that female preference for red drives directional hybridization, providing a mechanism by which mate choice can facilitate the blurring of species boundaries and potentially extinction via hybridization.
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No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author.
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