HYBRIDIZATION COST OF DELAYED MATURATION OF SECONDARY SEXUAL TRAITS IN THE COLLARED FLYCATCHER

In many species, individuals do not attain their full adult coloration until one or several years after reaching sexual maturity, and this signaling of juvenile status is thought to enable young individuals to avoid aggression from older, dominant conspecifics. We propose that hybridization may be o...

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Published inEvolution Vol. 59; no. 12; pp. 2711 - 2716
Main Authors Wiley, Chris, Bengtson, Jenny M, Svedin, Nina, Qvarnström, Anna
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States Society for the Study of Evolution 01.12.2005
Subjects
Age
Age Factors
Aggression
Animals
Breeding
BRIEF COMMUNICATIONS
Female
Female animals
Flycatchers
Genetic hybridization
heterochrony
heterospecific mate choice
hybrid zone
Hybridization, Genetic
Male
Male animals
Mating behavior
Phenotypic traits
Plumage
Secondary traits
Sex Characteristics
Sexual Behavior, Animal
Songbirds
species recognition
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Summary:In many species, individuals do not attain their full adult coloration until one or several years after reaching sexual maturity, and this signaling of juvenile status is thought to enable young individuals to avoid aggression from older, dominant conspecifics. We propose that hybridization may be one of several costs and benefits associated with such delayed maturation. We tested this idea in a hybrid zone of collared (Ficedula albicollis) and pied (F. hypoleuca) flycatchers on the Baltic islands of Öland and Gotland. One-year-old (subadult) male collared flycatchers differed from older birds in many plumage traits, and approached male pied flycatchers in phenotype. On both islands, subadult male collared flycatchers hybridized at a higher rate than adults. Mate-choice experiments in aviaries suggest that this difference is at least partly due to female pied flycatchers having a preference for subadults when constrained to choose a heterospecific mate. Because novel morphologies are often derived from changes in ontology, juvenile forms may resemble adults of closely related taxa. When such juveniles are reproductively mature, their phenotypic similarity to the adults of closely related species may increase their risk of hybridization.
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ISSN:0014-3820
1558-5646
DOI:10.1554/05-186.1