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Characterizing a hybrid zone between a cryptic species pair of freshwater snails
Author(s) -
Patel Simit,
Schell Tilman,
Eifert Constanze,
Feldmeyer Barbara,
Pfenninger Markus
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
molecular ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.619
H-Index - 225
eISSN - 1365-294X
pISSN - 0962-1083
DOI - 10.1111/mec.13049
Subject(s) - biology , cline (biology) , hybrid zone , species complex , lineage (genetic) , ecology , evolutionary biology , divergence (linguistics) , genetic variation , phylogenetic tree , genetics , gene , gene flow , population , linguistics , philosophy , demography , sociology
Characterizing hybrid zones and their dynamics is a central goal in evolutionary biology, but this is particularly challenging for morphologically cryptic species. The lack of conspicuous divergence between parental types means intermediate hybrid forms often go undetected. We aimed to detect and characterize a suspected hybrid zone between a pair of morphologically cryptic lineages of the freshwater snail, Radix . We sampled Radix from across a contact zone between two mitochondrial lineages ( Radix balthica and an undescribed lineage termed ‘ MOTU 3’) and detected admixture between two nuclear genotype clusters, which were significantly but not categorically associated with the mitochondrial lineages. Using a model selection approach, we show that the admixture cline is best explained by an interaction between precipitation and temperature gradients over the area, rather than geographic distance. We thus hypothesize that the correlation with climatic gradients suggests environmental selection has played a role in maintaining the hybrid zone. In a 2050 climate change scenario, we furthermore predict an expansion of one of the nuclear clusters and a widening of the hybrid zone as the climate warms and dries.