Two behavioural traits promote fine-scale species segregation and moderate hybridisation in a recovering sympatric fur seal population
Background: In systems where two or more species experience secondary contact, behavioural factors that regulate interspecific gene flow may be important for maintaining species boundaries and reducing the incidence of hybridisation. At subantarctic Macquarie Island, two species of fur seal breed in...
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ftunivadelaidedl:oai:digital.library.adelaide.edu.au:2440/61515 2023-12-24T10:18:29+01:00 Two behavioural traits promote fine-scale species segregation and moderate hybridisation in a recovering sympatric fur seal population Lancaster, M. Goldsworthy, S. Sunnucks, P. 2010 application/pdf http://hdl.handle.net/2440/61515 https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2148-10-143 en eng BioMed Central Ltd. BMC Evolutionary Biology, 2010; 10(1):143-1-143-9 1471-2148 http://hdl.handle.net/2440/61515 doi:10.1186/1471-2148-10-143 © 2010 Lancaster et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1471-2148-10-143 Animals Fur Seals Hybridization Genetic Genetics Population Ecosystem Species Specificity Female Male Gene Flow Mating Preference Animal Journal article 2010 ftunivadelaidedl https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2148-10-143 2023-11-27T23:17:54Z Background: In systems where two or more species experience secondary contact, behavioural factors that regulate interspecific gene flow may be important for maintaining species boundaries and reducing the incidence of hybridisation. At subantarctic Macquarie Island, two species of fur seal breed in close proximity to one another, hybridise at very high levels (up to 21% of hybrid pups are born annually), yet retain discrete gene pools. Using spatial and genetic information collected for pups and adults over twelve years, we assessed two behavioural traits – interannual site fidelity and differences in habitat use between the species - as possible contributors to the maintenance of this species segregation. Further, we explored the breakdown of these traits in pure-species individuals and hybrids. Results: We found virtually complete spatial segregation of the parental species, with only one exception; a single territory that contained adults of both species and also the highest concentration of hybrid pups. The spatial distribution of each species was closely linked to habitat type (pebbled vs boulder beaches), with members of each species breeding almost exclusively on one type or the other but hybrids breeding on both or at the junction between habitats. Inter-annual site fidelity was high for both sexes of pure-species adults, with 66% of females and all males returning to the same territory or a neighbouring one in different years. An important consequence for pure females of breeding on the 'wrong' habitat type, and thus in a heterospecific aggregation, was the production of hybrid pups. Low habitat fidelity of hybrid females facilitated bi-directional backcrossing, resulting in more diverse hybrid offspring. Conclusion: In a disturbed system where two sympatric fur seal species breed in close proximity, discrete gene pools are retained by extremely fine-scale and strong spatial segregation of the species. Two behavioural traits were found to be important in maintaining this stable population structure, ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Macquarie Island The University of Adelaide: Digital Library BMC Evolutionary Biology 10 1 143 |
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Open Polar |
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The University of Adelaide: Digital Library |
op_collection_id |
ftunivadelaidedl |
language |
English |
topic |
Animals Fur Seals Hybridization Genetic Genetics Population Ecosystem Species Specificity Female Male Gene Flow Mating Preference Animal |
spellingShingle |
Animals Fur Seals Hybridization Genetic Genetics Population Ecosystem Species Specificity Female Male Gene Flow Mating Preference Animal Lancaster, M. Goldsworthy, S. Sunnucks, P. Two behavioural traits promote fine-scale species segregation and moderate hybridisation in a recovering sympatric fur seal population |
topic_facet |
Animals Fur Seals Hybridization Genetic Genetics Population Ecosystem Species Specificity Female Male Gene Flow Mating Preference Animal |
description |
Background: In systems where two or more species experience secondary contact, behavioural factors that regulate interspecific gene flow may be important for maintaining species boundaries and reducing the incidence of hybridisation. At subantarctic Macquarie Island, two species of fur seal breed in close proximity to one another, hybridise at very high levels (up to 21% of hybrid pups are born annually), yet retain discrete gene pools. Using spatial and genetic information collected for pups and adults over twelve years, we assessed two behavioural traits – interannual site fidelity and differences in habitat use between the species - as possible contributors to the maintenance of this species segregation. Further, we explored the breakdown of these traits in pure-species individuals and hybrids. Results: We found virtually complete spatial segregation of the parental species, with only one exception; a single territory that contained adults of both species and also the highest concentration of hybrid pups. The spatial distribution of each species was closely linked to habitat type (pebbled vs boulder beaches), with members of each species breeding almost exclusively on one type or the other but hybrids breeding on both or at the junction between habitats. Inter-annual site fidelity was high for both sexes of pure-species adults, with 66% of females and all males returning to the same territory or a neighbouring one in different years. An important consequence for pure females of breeding on the 'wrong' habitat type, and thus in a heterospecific aggregation, was the production of hybrid pups. Low habitat fidelity of hybrid females facilitated bi-directional backcrossing, resulting in more diverse hybrid offspring. Conclusion: In a disturbed system where two sympatric fur seal species breed in close proximity, discrete gene pools are retained by extremely fine-scale and strong spatial segregation of the species. Two behavioural traits were found to be important in maintaining this stable population structure, ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Lancaster, M. Goldsworthy, S. Sunnucks, P. |
author_facet |
Lancaster, M. Goldsworthy, S. Sunnucks, P. |
author_sort |
Lancaster, M. |
title |
Two behavioural traits promote fine-scale species segregation and moderate hybridisation in a recovering sympatric fur seal population |
title_short |
Two behavioural traits promote fine-scale species segregation and moderate hybridisation in a recovering sympatric fur seal population |
title_full |
Two behavioural traits promote fine-scale species segregation and moderate hybridisation in a recovering sympatric fur seal population |
title_fullStr |
Two behavioural traits promote fine-scale species segregation and moderate hybridisation in a recovering sympatric fur seal population |
title_full_unstemmed |
Two behavioural traits promote fine-scale species segregation and moderate hybridisation in a recovering sympatric fur seal population |
title_sort |
two behavioural traits promote fine-scale species segregation and moderate hybridisation in a recovering sympatric fur seal population |
publisher |
BioMed Central Ltd. |
publishDate |
2010 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/2440/61515 https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2148-10-143 |
genre |
Macquarie Island |
genre_facet |
Macquarie Island |
op_source |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1471-2148-10-143 |
op_relation |
BMC Evolutionary Biology, 2010; 10(1):143-1-143-9 1471-2148 http://hdl.handle.net/2440/61515 doi:10.1186/1471-2148-10-143 |
op_rights |
© 2010 Lancaster et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2148-10-143 |
container_title |
BMC Evolutionary Biology |
container_volume |
10 |
container_issue |
1 |
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143 |
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1786207469413859328 |