Hybridization and Back-Crossing in Giant Petrels (Macronectes giganteus and M. halli) at Bird Island, South Georgia, and a Summary of Hybridization in Seabirds
Hybridization in natural populations provides an opportunity to study the evolutionary processes that shape divergence and genetic isolation of species. The emergence of pre-mating barriers is often the precursor to complete reproductive isolation. However, in recently diverged species, pre-mating b...
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Online Access: | http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/510623/ https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/510623/1/Phillips.pdf https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0121688 |
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ftnerc:oai:nora.nerc.ac.uk:510623 2023-05-15T15:44:39+02:00 Hybridization and Back-Crossing in Giant Petrels (Macronectes giganteus and M. halli) at Bird Island, South Georgia, and a Summary of Hybridization in Seabirds Brown, Ruth M. Techow, N. M. S. Mareile Wood, Andrew G. Phillips, Richard A. 2015-03-27 text http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/510623/ https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/510623/1/Phillips.pdf https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0121688 en eng Public Library of Science https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/510623/1/Phillips.pdf Brown, Ruth M.; Techow, N. M. S. Mareile; Wood, Andrew G.; Phillips, Richard A. 2015 Hybridization and Back-Crossing in Giant Petrels (Macronectes giganteus and M. halli) at Bird Island, South Georgia, and a Summary of Hybridization in Seabirds. PLoS ONE, 10 (3), e0121688. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0121688 <https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0121688> cc_by CC-BY Publication - Article PeerReviewed 2015 ftnerc https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0121688 2023-02-04T19:41:30Z Hybridization in natural populations provides an opportunity to study the evolutionary processes that shape divergence and genetic isolation of species. The emergence of pre-mating barriers is often the precursor to complete reproductive isolation. However, in recently diverged species, pre-mating barriers may be incomplete, leading to hybridization between seemingly distinct taxa. Here we report results of a long-term study at Bird Island, South Georgia, of the extent of hybridization, mate fidelity, timing of breeding and breeding success in mixed and conspecific pairs of the sibling species, Macronectes halli (northern giant petrel) and M. giganteus (southern giant petrel). The proportion of mixed-species pairs varied annually from 0.4–2.4% (mean of 1.5%), and showed no linear trend with time. Mean laying date in mixed-species pairs tended to be later than in northern giant petrel, and always earlier than in southern giant petrel pairs, and their breeding success (15.6%) was lower than that of conspecific pairs. By comparison, mixed-species pairs at both Marion and Macquarie islands always failed before hatching. Histories of birds in mixed-species pairs at Bird Island were variable; some bred previously or subsequently with a conspecific partner, others subsequently with a different allospecific partner, and some mixed-species pairs remained together for multiple seasons. We also report the first verified back-crossing of a hybrid giant petrel with a female northern giant petrel. We discuss the potential causes and evolutionary consequences of hybridization and back-crossing in giant petrels and summarize the incidence of back-crossing in other seabird species. Article in Journal/Newspaper Bird Island Giant Petrel Giant Petrels Macronectes giganteus Natural Environment Research Council: NERC Open Research Archive Bird Island ENVELOPE(-38.060,-38.060,-54.004,-54.004) Giganteus ENVELOPE(62.500,62.500,-67.567,-67.567) PLOS ONE 10 3 e0121688 |
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Open Polar |
collection |
Natural Environment Research Council: NERC Open Research Archive |
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ftnerc |
language |
English |
description |
Hybridization in natural populations provides an opportunity to study the evolutionary processes that shape divergence and genetic isolation of species. The emergence of pre-mating barriers is often the precursor to complete reproductive isolation. However, in recently diverged species, pre-mating barriers may be incomplete, leading to hybridization between seemingly distinct taxa. Here we report results of a long-term study at Bird Island, South Georgia, of the extent of hybridization, mate fidelity, timing of breeding and breeding success in mixed and conspecific pairs of the sibling species, Macronectes halli (northern giant petrel) and M. giganteus (southern giant petrel). The proportion of mixed-species pairs varied annually from 0.4–2.4% (mean of 1.5%), and showed no linear trend with time. Mean laying date in mixed-species pairs tended to be later than in northern giant petrel, and always earlier than in southern giant petrel pairs, and their breeding success (15.6%) was lower than that of conspecific pairs. By comparison, mixed-species pairs at both Marion and Macquarie islands always failed before hatching. Histories of birds in mixed-species pairs at Bird Island were variable; some bred previously or subsequently with a conspecific partner, others subsequently with a different allospecific partner, and some mixed-species pairs remained together for multiple seasons. We also report the first verified back-crossing of a hybrid giant petrel with a female northern giant petrel. We discuss the potential causes and evolutionary consequences of hybridization and back-crossing in giant petrels and summarize the incidence of back-crossing in other seabird species. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Brown, Ruth M. Techow, N. M. S. Mareile Wood, Andrew G. Phillips, Richard A. |
spellingShingle |
Brown, Ruth M. Techow, N. M. S. Mareile Wood, Andrew G. Phillips, Richard A. Hybridization and Back-Crossing in Giant Petrels (Macronectes giganteus and M. halli) at Bird Island, South Georgia, and a Summary of Hybridization in Seabirds |
author_facet |
Brown, Ruth M. Techow, N. M. S. Mareile Wood, Andrew G. Phillips, Richard A. |
author_sort |
Brown, Ruth M. |
title |
Hybridization and Back-Crossing in Giant Petrels (Macronectes giganteus and M. halli) at Bird Island, South Georgia, and a Summary of Hybridization in Seabirds |
title_short |
Hybridization and Back-Crossing in Giant Petrels (Macronectes giganteus and M. halli) at Bird Island, South Georgia, and a Summary of Hybridization in Seabirds |
title_full |
Hybridization and Back-Crossing in Giant Petrels (Macronectes giganteus and M. halli) at Bird Island, South Georgia, and a Summary of Hybridization in Seabirds |
title_fullStr |
Hybridization and Back-Crossing in Giant Petrels (Macronectes giganteus and M. halli) at Bird Island, South Georgia, and a Summary of Hybridization in Seabirds |
title_full_unstemmed |
Hybridization and Back-Crossing in Giant Petrels (Macronectes giganteus and M. halli) at Bird Island, South Georgia, and a Summary of Hybridization in Seabirds |
title_sort |
hybridization and back-crossing in giant petrels (macronectes giganteus and m. halli) at bird island, south georgia, and a summary of hybridization in seabirds |
publisher |
Public Library of Science |
publishDate |
2015 |
url |
http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/510623/ https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/510623/1/Phillips.pdf https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0121688 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-38.060,-38.060,-54.004,-54.004) ENVELOPE(62.500,62.500,-67.567,-67.567) |
geographic |
Bird Island Giganteus |
geographic_facet |
Bird Island Giganteus |
genre |
Bird Island Giant Petrel Giant Petrels Macronectes giganteus |
genre_facet |
Bird Island Giant Petrel Giant Petrels Macronectes giganteus |
op_relation |
https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/510623/1/Phillips.pdf Brown, Ruth M.; Techow, N. M. S. Mareile; Wood, Andrew G.; Phillips, Richard A. 2015 Hybridization and Back-Crossing in Giant Petrels (Macronectes giganteus and M. halli) at Bird Island, South Georgia, and a Summary of Hybridization in Seabirds. PLoS ONE, 10 (3), e0121688. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0121688 <https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0121688> |
op_rights |
cc_by |
op_rightsnorm |
CC-BY |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0121688 |
container_title |
PLOS ONE |
container_volume |
10 |
container_issue |
3 |
container_start_page |
e0121688 |
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1766379038645944320 |