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. 2018 Feb;64(1):75-88.
doi: 10.1093/cz/zox060. Epub 2017 Oct 28.

Interspecific competition, hybridization, and reproductive isolation in secondary contact: missing perspectives on males and females

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Interspecific competition, hybridization, and reproductive isolation in secondary contact: missing perspectives on males and females

Sara E Lipshutz. Curr Zool. 2018 Feb.

Abstract

Research on sexual selection and hybridization has focused on female mate choice and male-male competition. While the evolutionary outcomes of interspecific female preference have been well explored, we are now gaining a better understanding of the processes by which male-male competition between species in secondary contact promotes reproductive isolation versus hybridization. What is relatively unexplored is the interaction between female choice and male competition, as they can oppose one another or align with similar outcomes for reproductive isolation. The role of female-female competition in hybridization is also not well understood, but could operate similarly to male-male competition in polyandrous and other systems where costs to heterospecific mating are low for females. Reproductive competition between either sex of sympatric species can cause the divergence and/or convergence of sexual signals and recognition, which in turn influences the likelihood for interspecific mating. Future work on species interactions in secondary contact should test the relative influences of both mate choice and competition for mates on hybridization outcomes, and should not ignore the possibilities that females can compete over mating resources, and males can exercise mate choice.

Keywords: female–female competition; hybridization; male–male competition; reproductive isolation; sexual selection.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Conceptual framework of how competition between species in secondary contact can promote reproductive isolation and/or hybridization. Path labels (e.g., 1A) correspond to sections throughout the manuscript.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Females of 2 polyandrous, sex-role reversed shorebird species that hybridize in Panama show competitive asymmetries in morphology (left panel) and aggressive behavior (middle panel). J. spinosa females (right panel top) have larger body mass, longer wing spurs used for fighting, and are more aggressive than J. jacana females (right panel bottom), which may explain the asymmetric introgression of mtDNA in the hybrid zone. Figure adapted from Lipshutz (2017). Illustrations by Stephanie McClelland.
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Male white-crowned sparrow responding to simulated territorial intrusion during playback experiment. Photo by Elizabeth P. Derryberry.

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