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Odor preferences in hybrid chickadees: implications for reproductive isolation and asymmetric introgression

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Abstract

Preferences for mating cues can have important effects on speciation in natural hybrid zones. While mating preferences of parental species are well studied, hybrid preferences for cues of parental species have received less attention. Nevertheless, hybrid preferences have potentially important consequences for reproductive isolation and patterns of introgression. Here, we test preferences in wild-caught hybrid chickadees for odor cues from the parental species, black-capped and Carolina chickadees. Olfaction has been historically understudied in avian species, especially passerines, but much recent work has begun to show how olfactory cues play important roles in songbird ecology. In contrast to the strong conspecific odor preferences we previously found in pure-species chickadees, male hybrids as a group show no preference for the odor of either parental species, while still exhibiting individual instances of preference. Female hybrids show preferences for black-capped odor, but this signature is driven by individuals with elevated proportions of black-capped ancestry while Carolina-like female hybrids show no preferences. We discuss the implications of a lack of some female hybrid preferences on reproductive isolation, and the potential for asymmetric preferences in male and black-capped-like female hybrids to contribute to directional introgression and northward movement of the hybrid zone.

Significance statement

Mate preference has important implications for the fate of natural hybrid zones and the speciation process. Mating discrimination by pure species individuals against hybrids is commonly observed in hybrid zones. However, mate preferences of hybrid individuals for the parental species can be just as important. We previously found that hybrid zone black-capped and Carolina chickadees produce distinct odor profiles and show clear preferences for conspecific odor cues. Here, we assessed preferences of wild-caught hybrid chickadees for the odors of both parental species. In contrast to pure-species birds, hybrid males overall show no preference for either parental species odor as a group. Still, individual males do show clear preferences. Hybrid females show a preference for black-capped odor that is dependent on their own degree of black-capped ancestry. Carolina-like hybrid females show no preferences. Our results suggest the potential for hybrid preference to contribute to reproductive isolation and northward movement of the chickadee hybrid zone.

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Data availability

All pertaining data files and R code have been provided as supplemental material.

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All pertaining data files and R code have been provided as supplemental material.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Danielle Whittaker, Michael Layden, Gregory Lang, and Jian-Xu Zhang for helpful comments in the experimental design. We thank the management at Jacobsburg State Park, and in particular Richard Wiltraut, for their assistance in the field. We thank Michael McQuillan for his help in the field as well as all members of the Rice lab at Lehigh University for their general assistance. We thank Julie Hagelin and two anonymous reviewers for comments that greatly improved the manuscript.

Funding

This research was supported by Lehigh University and the National Science Foundation (IOS-1754909 to AMR); research grants from the Society for the Study of Evolution (The Rosemary Grant Award), the Animal Behavior Society, and the College of Arts and Sciences at Lehigh University to AVH; and internal fellowships from Lehigh University and its Department of Biological Sciences (Gordon C. Thorne Fellowship) to AVH.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, DeSales University, Center Valley, PA, USA

    Alex Van Huynh

  2. Department of Biological Sciences, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA, USA

    Alex Van Huynh & Amber M. Rice

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  1. Alex Van Huynh
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  2. Amber M. Rice
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AVH conceived of the project idea, performed experiments, and analyzed data. AVH and AMR designed experiments and wrote the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Alex Van Huynh.

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Animal capture, collection, and transport were conducted under the U.S. Geological Survey federal bird banding permit 23810, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service permit MB69567A-0, Pennsylvania Game Commission permits 103 and 145, and Pennsylvania Bureau of State Parks permit 2016–18. All applicable international and national guidelines for the use of animals were followed and all housing and testing procedures were approved by Lehigh University’s Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (Protocol #215).

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Communicated by S. Pruett-Jones.

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Van Huynh, A., Rice, A.M. Odor preferences in hybrid chickadees: implications for reproductive isolation and asymmetric introgression. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 75, 129 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-021-03069-2

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