5 research outputs found
Mate choice drives evolutionary stability in a hybrid complex
Previous studies have shown that assortative mating acts as a driver of speciation by countering
hybridization between two populations of the same species (pre-zygotic isolation) or
through mate choice among the hybrids (hybrid speciation). In both speciation types, assortative
mating promotes speciation over a transient hybridization stage. We studied mate
choice in a hybrid vertebrate complex, the allopolyploid fish Squalius alburnoides. This complex
is composed by several genomotypes connected by an intricate reproductive dynamics.
We developed a model that predicts the hybrid complex can persist when females
exhibit particular mate choice patterns. Our model is able to reproduce the diversity of population
dynamic outcomes found in nature, namely the dominance of the triploids and the
dominance of the tetraploids, depending on female mate choice patterns and frequency of
the parental species. Experimental mate choice trials showed that females exhibit the preferences
predicted by the model. Thus, despite the known role of assortative mating in driving
speciation, our findings suggest that certain mate choice patterns can instead hinder
speciation and support the persistence of hybrids over time without speciation or extinction