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Migratory divides coincide with reproductive barriers across replicated avian hybrid zones above the Tibetan Plateau
Author(s) -
Scordato Elizabeth S. C.,
Smith Chris C. R.,
Semenov Georgy A.,
Liu Yu,
Wilkins Matthew R.,
Liang Wei,
Rubtsov Alexander,
Sundev Gomboobaatar,
Koyama Kazuo,
Turbek Sheela P.,
Wunder Michael B.,
Stricker Craig A.,
Safran Rebecca J.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
ecology letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.852
H-Index - 265
eISSN - 1461-0248
pISSN - 1461-023X
DOI - 10.1111/ele.13420
Subject(s) - reproductive isolation , assortative mating , ecology , biology , subspecies , transect , hirundo , overwintering , hybrid zone , mating , habitat , acrocephalus , geography , population , genetic variation , demography , gene flow , biochemistry , sociology , gene
Migratory divides are proposed to be catalysts for speciation across a diversity of taxa. However, it is difficult to test the relative contributions of migratory behaviour vs. other divergent traits to reproductive isolation. Comparing hybrid zones with and without migratory divides offers a rare opportunity to directly examine the contribution of divergent migratory behaviour to reproductive barriers. We show that across replicate sampling transects of two pairs of barn swallow ( Hirundo rustica ) subspecies, strong reproductive isolation coincided with a migratory divide spanning 20 degrees of latitude. A third subspecies pair exhibited no evidence for a migratory divide and hybridised extensively. Within migratory divides, overwintering habitats were associated with assortative mating, implicating a central contribution of divergent migratory behaviour to reproductive barriers. The remarkable geographic coincidence between migratory divides and genetic breaks supports a long‐standing hypothesis that the Tibetan Plateau is a substantial barrier contributing to the diversity of Siberian avifauna.