The evolutionary outcomes of climate-change-induced hybridization in insect populations

Abstract

Rapid range shifts are one of the most frequent responses to climate change in insect populations. Climate-induced range shifts can lead to the breakdown of isolation barriers, and thus, to an increase in hybridization and introgression. Long-term evolutionary consequences such as the formation of hybrid zones, introgression, speciation, and extinction have been predicted as a result of climate-induced hybridization. Our review shows that there has been an increase in the number of published cases of climate-induced hybridization in insects, and that the formation of hybrid zones and introgression seems to be, at the moment, the most frequent outcomes. Although introgression is considered positive, since it increases species' genetic diversity, in the long term, it could lead to negative outcomes such as species fusion or genetic swamping.