Reproductive isolation between two darter species is enhanced and asymmetric in sympatry. Issue 5 (11th April 2014)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Zhou, M.; Fuller, R. C.
• Is Part Of: Journal of fish biology. Volume 84:Issue 5(2014)
• Page Start: 1389
• Page End: 1400
• Publication Date: 2014-04-11
• Subjects: Fishes -- Periodicals; Fishes -- Great Britain -- Periodicals; 597
• DOI: 10.1111/jfb.12364
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0022-1112

Abstract

<abstract abstract-type="main" id="jfb12364-abs-0001"> <title> <x xml:space="preserve">Abstract</x> </title> <p id="jfb12364-para-0001">Robust reproductive isolation was found between the rainbow darter <italic>Etheostoma caeruleum</italic> and the orangethroat darter <italic>Etheostoma spectabile</italic>, as more offspring were produced when conspecific males and females were crossed as compared with heterospecific crosses. Furthermore, fewer eggs resulted from heterospecific crosses involving sympatric <italic>E. spectabile</italic> females than those using allopatric <italic>E. spectabile</italic> females, while a similar pattern was not observed in heterospecific crosses using <italic>E. caeruleum</italic> females. These results suggest that reinforcement, <italic>i.e.</italic> selection for pre‐zygotic reproductive barriers driven by reduced hybrid fitness, may have contributed to the evolution and maintenance of reproductive barriers between these potentially hybridizing species in sympatry.</p> </abstract>