Open AccessPhenotypic divergence and reproductive isolation between sympatric forms of Japanese threespine sticklebacks
Author(s) -
KITANO JUN,
MORI SEIICHI,
PEICHEL CATHERINE L.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
biological journal of the linnean society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.906
H-Index - 112
eISSN - 1095-8312
pISSN - 0024-4066
DOI - 10.1111/j.1095-8312.2007.00824.x
Subject(s) - sympatric speciation , reproductive isolation , biology , gasterosteus , stickleback , sympatry , ecological speciation , allopatric speciation , genetic algorithm , evolutionary biology , fish migration , genetic divergence , ecology , zoology , genetic variation , genetics , population , gene flow , genetic diversity , fishery , habitat , demography , sociology , gene , fish <actinopterygii>
The threespine stickleback ( Gasterosteus aculeatus ) species complex is well suited for identifying the types of phenotypic divergence and isolating barriers that contribute to reproductive isolation at early stages of speciation. In the present study, we characterize the patterns of genetic and phenotypic divergence as well as the types of isolating barriers that are present between two sympatric pairs of threespine sticklebacks in Hokkaido, Japan. One sympatric pair consists of an anadromous and a resident freshwater form and shows divergence in body size between the forms, despite the lack of genetic differentiation between them. The second sympatric pair consists of two anadromous forms, which originated before the last glacial period and are currently reproductively isolated. These two anadromous forms have diverged in many morphological traits as well as in their reproductive behaviours. Both sexual isolation and hybrid male sterility contribute to reproductive isolation between the anadromous species pair. We discuss the shared and unique aspects of phenotypic divergence and reproductive isolation in the Japanese sympatric pairs compared with postglacial stickleback species pairs. Further studies of these divergent species pairs will provide a deeper understanding of the mechanisms of speciation in sticklebacks. © 2007 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society , 2007, 91 , 671–685.