Post‐mating reproductive barriers in two unidirectionally hybridizing sunfish (Centrarchidae: Lepomis)

The evolutionary sequence of events in the evolution of reproductive barriers between species is at the core of speciation biology. Where premating barriers fail, post‐mating barriers, such as conspecific sperm precedence (CSP), gamete incompatibility (GI) and hybrid inviability (HI) may evolve to p...

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Published inJournal of evolutionary biology Vol. 24; no. 1; pp. 111 - 120
Main Authors IMMLER, S, HAMILTON, M.B, POSLUSNY, N.J, BIRKHEAD, T.R, EPIFANIO, J.M
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.01.2011
Subjects
Animal behavior
Animal reproduction
Animals
Centrarchidae
conspecific sperm precedence
eggs
evolution
Evolutionary biology
Female
Fish
Genetic Speciation
Hybrid Vigor
Hybridization
Hybridization, Genetic
hybrids
Lepomis gibbosus
Lepomis macrochirus
Male
Perciformes - genetics
Perciformes - physiology
progeny
Reproduction - genetics
Reproduction - physiology
reproductive isolation
Sexual Behavior, Animal
sperm competition
spermatozoa
Spermatozoa - physiology
unidirectional hybridization
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Summary:The evolutionary sequence of events in the evolution of reproductive barriers between species is at the core of speciation biology. Where premating barriers fail, post‐mating barriers, such as conspecific sperm precedence (CSP), gamete incompatibility (GI) and hybrid inviability (HI) may evolve to prevent the production of (often) costly hybrid offspring with reduced fitness. We tested the role of post‐mating mechanisms for the reproductive isolation between two sunfish species [bluegill (BG) Lepomis macrochirus and pumpkinseed (PS) Lepomis gibbosus] and their first‐generation hybrids. Performing in vitro sperm competition experiments, we observed asymmetric CSP as main post‐mating isolation mechanism when BG and PS sperm were competing for PS eggs, whereas when sperm from both species were competing for BG eggs it was HI. Furthermore, hybrid sperm - although fertile in the absence of competition - were outcompeted by sperm of either parental species. This result may at least partly explain previous observations that natural hybridization in the study system is unidirectional.
Bibliography:http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1420-9101.2010.02142.x
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ISSN:1010-061X
1420-9101
DOI:10.1111/j.1420-9101.2010.02142.x