Sympatric Species Pairs (sympatric + species_pair)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Inter-ocean dispersal is an important mechanism in the zoogeography of hakes (Pisces: Merluccius spp.)

JOURNAL OF BIOGEOGRAPHY, Issue 6 2001
W. Stewart Grant
Aim To present new genetic data and to review available published genetic data that bear on the phylogeny of hakes in the genus Merluccius. To construct a zoogeographical model from a summary phylogenetic tree with dated nodes. To search for an explanation of antitropical distributions in hakes. To assess peripheral isolate, centrifugal and vicariance models of speciation in view of the molecular phylogeny and zoogeography of hakes. Locations Northern and southern Atlantic Ocean, eastern Pacific Ocean, South Pacific Ocean. Methods Electrophoretic analysis of 20 allozyme loci in 10 species of hakes. Phylogenetic tree construction with parsimony and bootstrap methods. Reanalysis of previous genetic data. Analysis of zoogeographical patterns with geographical distributions of molecular genetic markers. Results Phylogenetic analyses of new and previous allozyme data and previous mitochondrial DNA data indicate a deep genetic partition between Old- and New-World hakes with genetic distances corresponding to 10,15 Myr of separation. This time marks a widening rift between Europe and North America and a rapid drop in ocean temperatures that subdivided an ancestral population of North Atlantic hake. Two Old-World clades spanning the equator include pairs of sister taxa separated by tropical waters. Divergence times between these pairs of sister-taxa variously date to the early Pliocene and late Pleistocene. Amongst New-World hakes, pairs of sister taxa are separated by equatorial waters, by the Southern Ocean, and by the Panama Isthmus. These genetic separations reflect isolation by the rise of the Isthmus 3,4 Ma and by Pliocene and Pleistocene dispersals. Pairs of species occurring in sympatry or parapatry in six regions do not reflect sister-species relationships, but appear to reflect allopatric divergence and back dispersals of descendent species. Some geographically isolated regional populations originating within the last few hundreds of thousands of years merit subspecies designations. Conclusions Vicariance from tectonic movement of continental plates or ridge formation cannot account for the disjunct distributions of most hake sister taxa. Molecular genetic divergences place the origin of most hake species diversity in the last 2,3 Myr, a period of negligible tectonic activity. Distributions of many hake species appear to have resulted from dispersals and back dispersals across both warm equatorial waters and cool waters in the Southern Ocean, driven by oscillations in climate and ocean temperatures. Genetic and ecological divergence prevents hybridization and competitive exclusion between sympatric species pairs in six regions. Sister-taxa relationships and estimates of divergence are consistent with the modified peripheral isolate model of speciation in which vicariances, range expansions and contractions, dispersals and founder events lead to isolated populations that subsequently diverge to form new species. [source]


Ecological selection against hybrids in natural populations of sympatric threespine sticklebacks

JOURNAL OF EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY, Issue 6 2007
J. L. GOW
Abstract Experimental work has provided evidence for extrinsic post-zygotic isolation, a phenomenon unique to ecological speciation. The role that ecological components to reduced hybrid fitness play in promoting speciation and maintaining species integrity in the wild, however, is not as well understood. We addressed this problem by testing for selection against naturally occurring hybrids in two sympatric species pairs of benthic and limnetic threespine sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus). If post-zygotic isolation is a significant reproductive barrier, the relative frequency of hybrids within a population should decline significantly across the life-cycle. Such a trend in a natural population would give independent support to experimental evidence for extrinsic, rather than intrinsic, post-zygotic isolation in this system. Indeed, tracing mean individual hybridity (genetic intermediateness) across three life-history stages spanning four generations revealed just such a decline. This provides compelling evidence that extrinsic selection plays an important role in maintaining species divergence and supports a role for ecological speciation in sticklebacks. [source]


Satellite species in lampreys: a worldwide trend for ecological speciation in sympatry?

JOURNAL OF FISH BIOLOGY, Issue 2 2003
V. Salewski
Amongst several theories of speciation, sympatric speciation has been the most controversial but it is now widely accepted that populations can become reproductively isolated without being separated geographically. One problem with the acceptance of the theory of sympatric speciation, however, has been the lack of supporting empirical data and it is still believed that geographical isolation is responsible for the majority of speciation events. Here the example of species pairs in lampreys suggests that sympatric speciation in a whole taxonomic group could occur throughout its worldwide range. Lampreys occur in two ecologically distinct forms: parasitic mostly anadromous species that forage on tissue and body fluids of host fishes, and non-parasitic forms that, apart from a short adult life when they cease feeding, spend their entire life as filter feeders in the substratum of stream beds. Both forms occur in sympatric species pairs throughout the range of lampreys that occur in Eurasia, North America and Australia and it is widely acknowledged that non-parasitic forms derive from parasitic forms. The larvae of both forms can be distinguished by their potential fecundity and therefore, it is argued that the mode of life is not a consequence of different ecological conditions. Furthermore, as lampreys prefer to choose mates of similar sizes and fertilization success decreases with increasing difference in body size, there is a strong disruptive selection between the two forms and they are therefore reproductively isolated. Besides theoretical aspects, the similarity of the species pairs, together with their occurrence in sympatry, the occurrence of forms with intermediate characteristics, and examples where speciation might be in progress, hints at the possibility that speciation also occurred in sympatry. The difference between lampreys and other examples of sympatric speciation is that there seems to be a trend towards sympatric speciation events throughout the worldwide range of lampreys which is neither restricted to relatively small localities nor caused by human disturbance. Species pairs in lampreys therefore offer a unique possibility of studying the process of sympatric speciation on a large scale. [source]


Release vocalizations in neotropical toads (Bufo): ecological constraints and phylogenetic implications

JOURNAL OF ZOOLOGICAL SYSTEMATICS AND EVOLUTIONARY RESEARCH, Issue 1-2 2001
Di Tada
The release vocalizations of four nominal neotropical toad taxa (Bufo achalensis, Bufo limensis, Bufo spinulosus, Bufo arenarum) which compose three sympatric species pairs, were quantitatively analysed and homologous call types statistically compared. The first three taxa are closely related members of the mainly Andean Bufo spinulosus species group in which advertisement calls are absent. The specific vocal repertoire consisted of a uniform, unpulsed release call and one (in B. arenarum, two) pulsed release trill(s) which were given either singly or in series of up to three single calls. The uniform call was similar in structure and dominant (= basic) frequency in all taxa and probably represents an unspecific acoustic signal which is used to avoid heterospecific amplexus between sympatric toads. The release trills significantly differed in most call features among the taxa and, using discriminant analyses, even single calls were correctly assigned to sympatric pairs of species. In contrast, calls of allopatric pairs of species were confounded at rates of up to 36% indicating that selection towards species-specific signals increases when different species live in sympatry. The release trills of two allopatric populations (Perú, Argentina) assigned to B. spinulosus were similar in structure, but nevertheless features of pulse train permitted an unequivocal distinction, suggesting a long-lasting independent evolution. The taxonomic significance of this finding remains to be evaluated in further investigations. The complex vocal repertoire also offered the opportunity to assess phylogenetic relationships among the taxa. The extra-Andean B. achalensis seems to be closer related to the Andean B. spinulosus than this species is to the widely sympatric B. limensis– a species with several primitive character states indicating an early separation from the ancestral stock. Befreiungsrufe neotropischer Kröten (Bufo): Ökologische Einflüsse und phylogenetische Bedeutung Die Befreiungsrufe vier nomineller neotropischer Krötentaxa (Bufo achalensis, Bufo limensis, Bufo spinulosus, Bufo arenarum), die drei sympatrisch lebende Paare bilden, wurden quantitativ untersucht und homologe Ruftypen statistisch verglichen. Die drei erstgenannten Taxa sind nahverwandte Mitglieder der hauptsächlich andinen Bufo spinulosus Artengruppe, die keinen Paarungsruf besitzt. Das artspezifische Rufrepertoire umfaßte einen gleichförmigen, nicht-gepulsten Befreiungsruf und einen (bei B. arenarum zwei) aus Impulsen bestehenden Befreiungstriller. Diese Rufe werden entweder einzeln oder als Rufserien mit bis zu drei Einzelrufen abgegeben. Der gleichförmige Ruf war bei allen Taxa strukturell ähnlich und ist wahrscheinlich ein nichtartspezifischer Teil des Kommunikationssytems, der zur Vermeidung heterospezifischer Amplexus zwischen sympatrischen Kröten dient. Die Triller unterschieden sich in den meisten Merkmalen signifikant zwischen den Arten und auch Einzelrufe wurden bei sympatrischen Arten mittels Diskriminanzanlyse korrekt klassifiziert. Hingegen betrugen bei allopatrischen Arten die Fehlklassifikationen bis zu 36%. Dies weist auf einen starken Selektionsdruck zu artspezifischen Signalen bei Sympatrie hin. Die Triller zweier allopatrischer Populationen (Perú, Argentina) von B. spinulosusähnelten sich zwar strukturell, liessen sich aber ohne Fehlklassifikation voneinander unterscheiden, wahrscheinlich ein Hinweis auf eine längere unabhängige Evolution. Zur Klärung der taxonomischen Bedeutung dieses Befundes sind jedoch weitere Untersuchungen nötig. Der komplexe Aufbau der Rufe eröffnete auch die Möglichkeit, mittels bioakustischer Merkmale die phylogenetischen Beziehungen zwischen den Taxa abzuleiten. Die extraandine B. achalensis scheint mit der andinen B. spinulosus näher verwandt zu sein als diese Art mit der weitgehend sympatrischen B. limensis. Letztere Art zeigt eine Reihe primitiver Merkmale, die auf eine frühe Trennung vom der ancestralen Evolutionlinie hinweisen. [source]