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Reinforcement is a process of speciation where natural selection increases the reproductive isolation (further divided to pre-zygotic isolation and post-zygotic isolation) between two populations of species. This occurs as a result of selection acting against the production of hybrid individuals of low fitness. The idea was originally developed by Alfred Russel Wallace and is sometimes referred to as the Wallace effect. The modern concept of reinforcement originates from Theodosius Dobzhansky. He envisioned a species separated allopatrically, where during secondary contact the two populations mate, producing hybrids with lower fitness. Natural selection results from the hybrid's inability to produce viable offspring; thus members of one species who do not mate with members of the other have greater reproductive success. This favors the evolution of greater prezygotic isolation (differences in behavior or biology that inhibit formation of hybrid zygotes). Reinforcement is one of the few cases in which selection can favor an increase in prezygotic isolation, influencing the process of speciation directly. [1] This aspect has been particularly appealing among evolutionary biologists. [2]
The support for reinforcement has fluctuated since its inception, and terminological confusion and differences in usage over history have led to multiple meanings and complications. Various objections have been raised by evolutionary biologists as to the plausibility of its occurrence. Since the 1990s, data from theory, experiments, and nature have overcome many of the past objections, rendering reinforcement widely accepted, [3] : 354 though its prevalence in nature remains unknown. [4] [5]
Numerous models have been developed to understand its operation in nature, most relying on several facets: genetics, population structures, influences of selection, and mating behaviors. Empirical support for reinforcement exists, both in the laboratory and in nature. Documented examples are found in a wide range of organisms: both vertebrates and invertebrates, fungi, and plants. The secondary contact of originally separated incipient species (the initial stage of speciation) is increasing due to human activities such as the introduction of invasive species or the modification of natural habitats. [6] This has implications for measures of biodiversity and may become more relevant in the future. [6]
Reinforcement has had a complex history in that its popularity among scholars has changed over time. [7] [8] Jerry Coyne and H. Allen Orr contend that the theory of reinforcement went through three phases of historical development: [3] : 366
Sometimes called the Wallace effect, reinforcement was originally proposed by Alfred Russel Wallace in 1889. [9] : 353 His hypothesis differed markedly from the modern conception in that it focused on post-zygotic isolation, strengthened by group selection. [10] [11] [3] : 353 Theodosius Dobzhansky was the first to provide a thorough description of the process in 1937, [3] : 353 though the term itself was not coined until 1955 by W. Frank Blair. [12] In 1930, Ronald Fisher laid out the first genetic description of the process of reinforcement in The Genetical Theory of Natural Selection , and in 1965 and 1970 the first computer simulations were run to test for its plausibility. [3] : 367 Later population genetic [13] and quantitative genetic [14] studies were conducted showing that completely unfit hybrids lead unequivocally to an increase in prezygotic isolation. [3] : 367
Dobzhansky's idea gained significant support; he suggested that it illustrated the final step in speciation, for example after an allopatric population comes into secondary contact. [3] : 353 In the 1980s, many evolutionary biologists began to doubt the plausibility of the idea, [3] : 353 based not on empirical evidence, but largely on the growth of theory that deemed it an unlikely mechanism of reproductive isolation. [2] A number of theoretical objections arose at the time and are addressed in the Arguments against reinforcement section below.
By the early 1990s, reinforcement saw a revival in popularity among evolutionary biologists; due primarily from a sudden increase in data—empirical evidence from studies in labs and largely by examples found in nature. [3] : 354 Further, computer simulations of the genetics and migration patterns of populations found, "something looking like reinforcement". [3] : 372 The most recent theoretical work on speciation has come from several studies (notably from Liou and Price, Kelly and Noor, and Kirkpatrick and Servedio) using highly complex computer simulations; all of which came to similar conclusions: that reinforcement is plausible under several conditions, and in many cases, is easier than previously thought. [3] : 374
Confusion exists around the meaning of the term reinforcement. [15] It was first used to describe the observed mating call differences in Gastrophryne frogs within a secondary contact hybrid zone. [15] The term secondary contact has also been used to describe reinforcement in the context of an allopatrically separated population experiencing contact after the loss of a geographic barrier. [16] The Wallace effect is similar to reinforcement, but is rarely used. [15] Roger Butlin demarcated incomplete post-zygotic isolation from complete isolation, referring to incomplete isolation as reinforcement and completely isolated populations as experiencing reproductive character displacement. [17] Daniel J. Howard considered reproductive character displacement to represent either assortive mating or the divergence of traits for mate recognition (specifically between sympatric populations). [15] Reinforcement, under his definition, included prezygotic divergence and complete post-zygotic isolation. [18] Servedio and Noor include any detected increase in prezygotic isolation as reinforcement, as long as it is a response to selection against mating between two different species. [4] Coyne and Orr contend that, "true reinforcement is restricted to cases in which isolation is enhanced between taxa that can still exchange genes". [3] : 352
One of the strongest forms of reproductive isolation in nature is sexual isolation: traits in organisms involving mating. [20] This pattern has led to the idea that, because selection acts so strongly on mating traits, it may be involved in the process of speciation. [20] This process of speciation influenced by natural selection is reinforcement, and can happen under any mode of speciation [3] : 355 (e.g. geographic modes of speciation or ecological speciation [21] ). It necessitates two forces of evolution that act on mate choice: natural selection and gene flow. [22] Selection acts as the main driver of reinforcement as it selects against hybrid genotypes that are of low-fitness, regardless if individual preferences have no effect on survival and reproduction. [22] Gene flow acts as the primary opposing force against reinforcement, as the exchange of genes between individuals leading to hybrids cause the genotypes to homogenize. [22]
Butlin laid out four primary criteria for reinforcement to be detected in natural or laboratory populations: [17]
After speciation by reinforcement occurs, changes after complete reproductive isolation (and further isolation thereafter) are a form of reproductive character displacement. [23] A common signature of reinforcement's occurrence in nature is that of reproductive character displacement; characteristics of a population diverge in sympatry but not allopatry. [6] [5] One difficulty in detection is that ecological character displacement can result in the same patterns. [24] Further, gene flow can diminish the isolation found in sympatric populations. [24] Two important factors in the outcome of the process rely on: 1) the specific mechanisms that causes prezygotic isolation, and 2) the number of alleles altered by mutations affecting mate choice. [25]
In instances of peripatric speciation, reinforcement is unlikely to complete speciation in the case that the peripherally isolated population comes into secondary contact with the main population. [26] In sympatric speciation, selection against hybrids is required; therefore reinforcement can play a role, given the evolution of some form of fitness trade-offs. [1] In sympatry, patterns of strong mating discrimination are often observed—being attributed to reinforcement. [7] Reinforcement is thought to be the agent of gametic isolation. [27]
The underlying genetics of reinforcement can be understood by an ideal model of two haploid populations experiencing an increase in linkage disequilibrium. Here, selection rejects low fitness or allele combinations while favoring combinations of alleles (in the first subpopulation) and alleles (in the second subpopulation). The third locus or (the assortive mating alleles) have an effect on mating pattern but is not under direct selection. If selection at and cause changes in the frequency of allele , assortive mating is promoted, resulting in reinforcement. Both selection and assortive mating are necessary, that is, that matings of and are more common than matings of and . [28] A restriction of migration between populations can further increase the chance of reinforcement, as it decreases the probability of the differing genotypes to exchange. [15]
An alternative model exists to address the antagonism of recombination, as it can reduce the association between the alleles that involve fitness and the assortive mating alleles that do not. [15] Genetic models often differ in terms of the number of traits associated with loci; [29] with some relying on one locus per trait [26] [30] [31] and others on polygenic traits. [23] [22] [32]
The structure and migration patterns of a population can affect the process of speciation by reinforcement. It has been shown to occur under an island model, harboring conditions with infrequent migrations occurring in one direction, [22] and in symmetric migration models where species migrate evenly back and forth between populations. [26] [30]
Reinforcement can also occur in single populations, [29] [23] mosaic hybrid zones (patchy distributions of parental forms and subpopulations), [31] and in parapatric populations with narrow contact zones. [33]
Population densities are an important factor in reinforcement, often in conjunction with extinction. [23] It is possible that, when two species come into secondary contact, one population can become extinct—primarily due to low hybrid fitness accompanied by high population growth rates. [23] Extinction is less likely if the hybrids are inviable instead of infertile, as fertile individuals can still survive long enough to reproduce. [23]
Speciation by reinforcement relies directly on selection to favor an increase in prezygotic isolation, [1] and the nature of selection's role in reinforcement has been widely discussed, with models applying varying approaches. [29] Selection acting on hybrids can occur in several different ways. All hybrids produced may be equality low-fitness, [23] conferring a broad disadvantage. In other cases, selection may favor multiple and varying phenotypes [26] such as in the case of a mosaic hybrid zone. [31] Natural selection can act on specific alleles both directly or indirectly. [29] [22] [34] In direct selection, the frequency of the selected allele is favored to the extreme. In cases where an allele is indirectly selected, its frequency increases due to a different linked allele experiencing selection (linkage disequilibrium). [15]
The condition of the hybrids under selection can play a role in post-zygotic isolation, as hybrid inviability (a hybrid unable to mature into a fit adult) and sterility (the inability to produce offspring entirely) prohibit gene flow between populations. [7] Selection against the hybrids can even be driven by any failure to obtain a mate, as it is effectively indistinguishable from sterility—each circumstance results in no offspring. [7]
Some initial divergence in mate preference must be present for reinforcement to occur. [7] [23] [35] Any traits that promote isolation may be subjected to reinforcement such as mating signals (e.g. courtship display), signal responses, the location of breeding grounds, the timing of mating (e.g. seasonal breeding such as in allochronic speciation), or even egg receptivity. [15] Individuals may also discriminate against mates that differ in various traits such as mating call or morphology. [36] Many of these examples are described below.
The evidence for reinforcement comes from observations in nature, comparative studies, and laboratory experiments. [3] : 354
Reinforcement can be shown to be occurring (or to have occurred in the past) by measuring the strength of prezygotic isolation in a sympatric population in comparison to an allopatric population of the same species. [3] : 357 Comparative studies of this allow for determining large-scale patterns in nature across various taxa. [3] : 362 Mating patterns in hybrid zones can also be used to detect reinforcement. [18] Reproductive character displacement is seen as a result of reinforcement, [7] so many of the cases in nature express this pattern in sympatry. Reinforcement's ubiquity is unknown, [4] but the patterns of reproductive character displacement are found across numerous taxa and is considered to be a common occurrence in nature. [18] Studies of reinforcement in nature often prove difficult, as alternative explanations for the detected patterns can be asserted. [3] : 358 Nevertheless, empirical evidence exists for reinforcement occurring across various taxa [7] and its role in precipitating speciation is conclusive. [15]
Assortive mating is expected to increase among sympatric populations experiencing reinforcement. [15] This fact allows for the direct comparison of the strength of prezygotic isolation in sympatry and allopatry between different experiments and studies. [3] : 362 Coyne and Orr surveyed 171 species pairs, collecting data on their geographic mode, genetic distance, and strength of both prezygotic and postzygotic isolation; finding that prezygotic isolation was significantly stronger in sympatric pairs, correlating with the ages of the species. [3] : 362 Additionally, the strength of post-zygotic isolation was not different between sympatric and allopatric pairs. [15] This finding supports the predictions of speciation by reinforcement and correlates well with a later study [18] that found 33 studies expressing patterns of strong prezygotic isolation in sympatry. [3] : 363 A survey of the rates of speciation in fish and their associated hybrid zones found similar patterns in sympatry, supporting the occurrence of reinforcement. [38]
Laboratory studies that explicitly test for reinforcement are limited, [3] : 357 with many of the experiments having been conducted on Drosophila fruit flies. In general, two types of experiments have been conducted: using artificial selection to mimic natural selection that eliminates the hybrids (often called "destroy-the-hybrids"), and using disruptive selection to select for a trait (regardless of its function in sexual reproduction). [3] : 355–357 Many experiments using the destroy-the-hybrids technique are generally cited as supportive of reinforcement; however, some researchers such as Coyne and Orr and William R. Rice and Ellen E. Hostert contend that they do not truly model reinforcement, as gene flow is completely restricted between two populations. [39] [3] : 356
Various alternative explanations for the patterns observed in nature have been proposed. [3] : 375 There is no single, overarching signature of reinforcement; however, there are two proposed possibilities: [3] : 379 that of sex asymmetry (where females in sympatric populations are forced to become choosy in the face of two differing males) [40] and that of allelic dominance: any of the alleles experiencing selection for isolation should be dominate. [7] Though this signature does not fully account for fixation probabilities or ecological character displacement. [3] : 380 Coyne and Orr extend the sex asymmetry signature and contend that, regardless of the change seen in females and males in sympatry, isolation is driven more by females. [3] : 380
Ecology can also play a role in the observed patterns—called ecological character displacement. Natural selection may drive the reduction of an overlap of niches between species instead of acting to reduce hybridization [3] : 377 Though one experiment in stickleback fish that explicitly tested this hypotheses found no evidence. [41]
Species interactions can also result in reproductive character displacement (in both mate preference or mating signal). [20] Examples include predation and competition pressures, parasites, deceptive pollination, and mimicry. [20] Because these and other factors can result in reproductive character displacement, Conrad J. Hoskin and Megan Higgie give five criteria for reinforcement to be distinguished between ecological and ethological influences:
(1) mating traits are identified in the focal species; (2) mating traits are affected by a species interaction, such that selection on mating traits is likely; (3) species interactions differ among populations (present vs. absent, or different species interactions affecting mating traits in each population); (4) mating traits (signal and/or preference) differ among populations due to differences in species interactions; (5) speciation requires showing that mating trait divergence results in complete or near complete sexual isolation among populations. Results will be most informative in a well-resolved biogeographic setting where the relationship and history among populations is known. [20]
It is possible that the pattern of enhanced isolation could simply be a temporary outcome of secondary contact where two allopatric species already have a varying range of prezygotic isolation: with some exhibiting more than others. [42] Those that have weaker prezygotic isolation will eventually fuse, losing their distinctiveness. [7] This hypothesis does not explain the fact that individual species in allopatry, experiencing consistent gene flow, would not differ in levels of gene flow upon secondary contact. [7] [43] Furthermore, patterns detected in Drosophila find high levels of prezygotic isolation in sympatry but not in allopatry. [44] The fusion hypothesis predicts that strong isolation should be found in both allopatry and sympatry. [44] This fusion process is thought to occur in nature, but does not fully explain the patterns found with reinforcement. [3] : 376
It is possible that the process of sympatric speciation itself may result in the observed patterns of reinforcement. [3] : 378 One method of distinguishing between the two is to construct a phylogenetic history of the species, as the strength of prezygotic isolation between a group of related species should differ according to how they speciated in the past. [45] Two other ways to determine if reinforcement occurs (as opposed to sympatric speciation) are:
In a runaway process (not unlike Fisherian runaway selection), selection against the low-fitness hybrids favors assortive mating, increasing mate discrimination rapidly. [7] [44] Additionally, when there is a low cost to female mate preferences, changes in male phenotypes can result, expressing a pattern identical to that of reproductive character displacement. [48] Post-zygotic isolation is not needed, initiated simply by the fact that unfit hybrids cannot get mates. [7]
A number of objections were put forth, mainly during the 1980s, arguing that reinforcement is implausible. [7] [20] [3] : 369 Most rely on theoretical work which suggested that the antagonism between the forces of natural selection and gene flow were the largest barriers to its feasibility. [3] : 369–372 These objections have since been largely contradicted by evidence from nature. [18] [3] : 372
Concerns about hybrid fitness playing a role in reinforcement has led to objections based on the relationship between selection and recombination. [5] [3] : 369 That is, if gene flow is not zero (if hybrids aren't completely unfit), selection cannot drive the fixation of alleles for prezygotic isolation. [28] For example: If population has the prezygotic isolating allele and the high fitness, post-zygotic alleles and ; and population has the prezygotic allele a and the high fitness, post-zygotic alleles and , both and genotypes will experience recombination in the face of gene flow. Somehow, the populations must be maintained. [3] : 369
In addition, specific alleles that have the selective advantage within the overlapped populations are only useful within that population. [49] However, if they are selectively advantageous, gene flow should allow the alleles to spread throughout both populations. [49] To prevent this, the alleles would have to be deleterious or neutral. [3] : 371 This is not without problems, as gene flow from the presumably large allopatric regions could overwhelm the area when two populations overlap. [3] : 371 For reinforcement to work, gene flow must be present, but very limited. [26] [31]
Recent studies suggest reinforcement can occur under a wider range of conditions than previously thought [29] [46] [3] : 372–373 and that the effect of gene flow can be overcome by selection. [50] [51] For example, the two species Drosophila santomea and D. yakuba on the African island São Tomé occasionally hybridize with one another, resulting in fertile female offspring and sterile male offspring. [50] This natural setting was reproduced in the laboratory, directly modeling reinforcement: the removal of some hybrids and the allowance of varying levels of gene flow. [51] The results of the experiment strongly suggested that reinforcement works under a variety of conditions, with the evolution of sexual isolation arising in 5–10 fruit fly generations. [51]
In conjunction with the fusion hypothesis, reinforcement can be thought of as a race against both fusion and extinction. [42] The production of unfit hybrids is effectively the same as a heterozygote disadvantage; whereby a deviation from genetic equilibrium causes the loss of the unfit allele. [52] This effect would result in the extinction of one of the populations. [53] This objection is overcome by when both populations are not subject to the same ecological conditions. [3] : 370 Though, it is still possible for extinction of one population to occur, and has been shown in population simulations. [54] For reinforcement to occur, prezygotic isolation must happen quickly. [3] : 370
Speciation is the evolutionary process by which populations evolve to become distinct species. The biologist Orator F. Cook coined the term in 1906 for cladogenesis, the splitting of lineages, as opposed to anagenesis, phyletic evolution within lineages. Charles Darwin was the first to describe the role of natural selection in speciation in his 1859 book On the Origin of Species. He also identified sexual selection as a likely mechanism, but found it problematic.
In population genetics, gene flow is the transfer of genetic material from one population to another. If the rate of gene flow is high enough, then two populations will have equivalent allele frequencies and therefore can be considered a single effective population. It has been shown that it takes only "one migrant per generation" to prevent populations from diverging due to drift. Populations can diverge due to selection even when they are exchanging alleles, if the selection pressure is strong enough. Gene flow is an important mechanism for transferring genetic diversity among populations. Migrants change the distribution of genetic diversity among populations, by modifying allele frequencies. High rates of gene flow can reduce the genetic differentiation between the two groups, increasing homogeneity. For this reason, gene flow has been thought to constrain speciation and prevent range expansion by combining the gene pools of the groups, thus preventing the development of differences in genetic variation that would have led to differentiation and adaptation. In some cases dispersal resulting in gene flow may also result in the addition of novel genetic variants under positive selection to the gene pool of a species or population
Allopatric speciation – also referred to as geographic speciation, vicariant speciation, or its earlier name the dumbbell model – is a mode of speciation that occurs when biological populations become geographically isolated from each other to an extent that prevents or interferes with gene flow.
Sympatric speciation is the evolution of a new species from a surviving ancestral species while both continue to inhabit the same geographic region. In evolutionary biology and biogeography, sympatric and sympatry are terms referring to organisms whose ranges overlap so that they occur together at least in some places. If these organisms are closely related, such a distribution may be the result of sympatric speciation. Etymologically, sympatry is derived from the Greek roots συν ("together") and πατρίς ("homeland"). The term was coined by Edward Bagnall Poulton in 1904, who explains the derivation.
Haldane's rule is an observation about the early stage of speciation, formulated in 1922 by the British evolutionary biologist J. B. S. Haldane, that states that if — in a species hybrid — only one sex is inviable or sterile, that sex is more likely to be the heterogametic sex. The heterogametic sex is the one with two different sex chromosomes; in therian mammals, for example, this is the male.
In biology, two related species or populations are considered sympatric when they exist in the same geographic area and thus frequently encounter one another. An initially interbreeding population that splits into two or more distinct species sharing a common range exemplifies sympatric speciation. Such speciation may be a product of reproductive isolation – which prevents hybrid offspring from being viable or able to reproduce, thereby reducing gene flow – that results in genetic divergence. Sympatric speciation may, but need not, arise through secondary contact, which refers to speciation or divergence in allopatry followed by range expansions leading to an area of sympatry. Sympatric species or taxa in secondary contact may or may not interbreed.
Disruptive selection, also called diversifying selection, describes changes in population genetics in which extreme values for a trait are favored over intermediate values. In this case, the variance of the trait increases and the population is divided into two distinct groups. In this more individuals acquire peripheral character value at both ends of the distribution curve.
In parapatric speciation, two subpopulations of a species evolve reproductive isolation from one another while continuing to exchange genes. This mode of speciation has three distinguishing characteristics: 1) mating occurs non-randomly, 2) gene flow occurs unequally, and 3) populations exist in either continuous or discontinuous geographic ranges. This distribution pattern may be the result of unequal dispersal, incomplete geographical barriers, or divergent expressions of behavior, among other things. Parapatric speciation predicts that hybrid zones will often exist at the junction between the two populations.
A hybrid zone exists where the ranges of two interbreeding species or diverged intraspecific lineages meet and cross-fertilize. Hybrid zones can form in situ due to the evolution of a new lineage but generally they result from secondary contact of the parental forms after a period of geographic isolation, which allowed their differentiation. Hybrid zones are useful in studying the genetics of speciation as they can provide natural examples of differentiation and (sometimes) gene flow between populations that are at some point between representing a single species and representing multiple species in reproductive isolation.
The mechanisms of reproductive isolation are a collection of evolutionary mechanisms, behaviors and physiological processes critical for speciation. They prevent members of different species from producing offspring, or ensure that any offspring are sterile. These barriers maintain the integrity of a species by reducing gene flow between related species.
In biology, a cline is a measurable gradient in a single characteristic of a species across its geographical range. First coined by Julian Huxley in 1938, the cline usually has a genetic, or phenotypic character. Clines can show smooth, continuous gradation in a character, or they may show more abrupt changes in the trait from one geographic region to the next.
Ecological speciation is a form of speciation arising from reproductive isolation that occurs due to an ecological factor that reduces or eliminates gene flow between two populations of a species. Ecological factors can include changes in the environmental conditions in which a species experiences, such as behavioral changes involving predation, predator avoidance, pollinator attraction, and foraging; as well as changes in mate choice due to sexual selection or communication systems. Ecologically-driven reproductive isolation under divergent natural selection leads to the formation of new species. This has been documented in many cases in nature and has been a major focus of research on speciation for the past few decades.
The scientific study of speciation — how species evolve to become new species — began around the time of Charles Darwin in the middle of the 19th century. Many naturalists at the time recognized the relationship between biogeography and the evolution of species. The 20th century saw the growth of the field of speciation, with major contributors such as Ernst Mayr researching and documenting species' geographic patterns and relationships. The field grew in prominence with the modern evolutionary synthesis in the early part of that century. Since then, research on speciation has expanded immensely.
Reinforcement is a process within speciation where natural selection increases the reproductive isolation between two populations of species by reducing the production of hybrids. Evidence for speciation by reinforcement has been gathered since the 1990s, and along with data from comparative studies and laboratory experiments, has overcome many of the objections to the theory. Differences in behavior or biology that inhibit formation of hybrid zygotes are termed prezygotic isolation. Reinforcement can be shown to be occurring by measuring the strength of prezygotic isolation in a sympatric population in comparison to an allopatric population of the same species. Comparative studies of this allow for determining large-scale patterns in nature across various taxa. Mating patterns in hybrid zones can also be used to detect reinforcement. Reproductive character displacement is seen as a result of reinforcement, so many of the cases in nature express this pattern in sympatry. Reinforcement's prevalence is unknown, but the patterns of reproductive character displacement are found across numerous taxa, and is considered to be a common occurrence in nature. Studies of reinforcement in nature often prove difficult, as alternative explanations for the detected patterns can be asserted. Nevertheless, empirical evidence exists for reinforcement occurring across various taxa and its role in precipitating speciation is conclusive.
Laboratory experiments of speciation have been conducted for all four modes of speciation: allopatric, peripatric, parapatric, and sympatric; and various other processes involving speciation: hybridization, reinforcement, founder effects, among others. Most of the experiments have been done on flies, in particular Drosophila fruit flies. However, more recent studies have tested yeasts, fungi, and even viruses.
This glossary of genetics and evolutionary biology is a list of definitions of terms and concepts used in the study of genetics and evolutionary biology, as well as sub-disciplines and related fields, with an emphasis on classical genetics, quantitative genetics, population biology, phylogenetics, speciation, and systematics. Overlapping and related terms can be found in Glossary of cellular and molecular biology, Glossary of ecology, and Glossary of biology.
Maria R. Servedio is a Canadian-American professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her research spans a wide range of topics in evolutionary biology from sexual selection to evolution of behavior. She largely approaches these topics using mathematical models. Her current research interests include speciation and reinforcement, mate choice, and learning with a particular focus on evolutionary mechanisms that promote premating (prezygotic) isolation. Through integrative approaches and collaborations, she uses mathematical models along with experimental, genetic, and comparative techniques to draw conclusions on how evolution occurs. She has published extensively on these topics and has more than 50 peer-reviewed articles. She served as Vice President in 2018 of the American Society of Naturalists, and has been elected to serve as President in 2023.
Eukaryote hybrid genomes result from interspecific hybridization, where closely related species mate and produce offspring with admixed genomes. The advent of large-scale genomic sequencing has shown that hybridization is common, and that it may represent an important source of novel variation. Although most interspecific hybrids are sterile or less fit than their parents, some may survive and reproduce, enabling the transfer of adaptive variants across the species boundary, and even result in the formation of novel evolutionary lineages. There are two main variants of hybrid species genomes: allopolyploid, which have one full chromosome set from each parent species, and homoploid, which are a mosaic of the parent species genomes with no increase in chromosome number.
Allochronic speciation is a form of speciation arising from reproductive isolation that occurs due to a change in breeding time that reduces or eliminates gene flow between two populations of a species. The term allochrony is used to describe the general ecological phenomenon of the differences in phenology that arise between two or more species—speciation caused by allochrony is effectively allochronic speciation.
In biology, parallel speciation is a type of speciation where there is repeated evolution of reproductively isolating traits via the same mechanisms occurring between separate yet closely related species inhabiting different environments. This leads to a circumstance where independently evolved lineages have developed reproductive isolation from their ancestral lineage, but not from other independent lineages that inhabit similar environments. In order for parallel speciation to be confirmed, there is a set of three requirements that has been established that must be met: there must be phylogenetic independence between the separate populations inhabiting similar environments to ensure that the traits responsible for reproductive isolation evolved separately, there must be reproductive isolation not only between the ancestral population and the descendent population, but also between descendent populations that inhabit dissimilar environments, and descendent populations that inhabit similar environments must not be reproductively isolated from one another. To determine if natural selection specifically is the cause of parallel speciation, a fourth requirement has been established that includes identifying and testing an adaptive mechanism, which eliminates the possibility of a genetic factor such as polyploidy being the responsible agent.
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