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Ecology, song similarity and phylogeny predict natural hybridization in an avian family

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Abstract

Hybridization is important in the evolution of many animal groups; however, broad scale patterns of natural hybridization are still poorly understood. Using phylogenetic comparative analyses, we tested for relationships between demographic, ecological, phenotypic and phylogenetic variables and the incidence of natural hybridization among 45 species of North American wood warbler. Since 1980, hybrids have been documented in 24 species (53 %). We detected negative relationships between the incidence of hybridization and both breeding range size and phylogenetic distance, and positive relationships between the incidence of hybridization and (1) song similarity, (2) the extent of breeding sympatry of species pairs and (3) the number of additional heterospecific warbler species that co-occur during breeding. Neither population size nor breeding habitat quality (as measured by threats to survival or reproduction in breeding areas) explained variation in the incidence of hybridization. Our results suggest a potential role of limited breeding habitat in wood warbler hybridization events and a net positive effect of breeding sympatry. They also support the hypothesis that mating signal similarity facilitates hybridization events and are consistent with an increase in reproductive isolation with increasing genetic divergence. Our results also suggest the presence of phylogenetic signal in wood warbler hybridization. By investigating natural hybridization at the taxonomic level of family, we have identified several previously undocumented patterns of natural hybridization. This study demonstrates the utility of examining the combined effects of ecology, demography, phenotype and phylogeny when studying variation in the expression of natural hybridization among taxa.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Luke Harmon, Richard Glor, and Pierre Legendre for R code and programming assistance. Thanks to John Sullivan for phylogeny preparation and advice, and Wesley Hochachka for providing regional co-occurrence data and help with its interpretation. Darren Irwin and three anonymous reviewers provided very helpful feedback on earlier versions of the manuscript. P.M.W. was funded by a Zoology Scholarship Endowment for Excellence Fellowship.

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  1. Rebecca E. Symula

    Present address: Department of Biology, University of Mississippi, Oxford, MS, 38677, USA

  2. Pamela M. Willis

    Present address: Department of Biology, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, V8P 5C2, Canada

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Section of Integrative Biology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, 78712, USA

    Pamela M. Willis & Rebecca E. Symula

  2. Fuller Evolutionary Biology Program, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA

    Irby J. Lovette

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  1. Pamela M. Willis
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Correspondence to Pamela M. Willis.

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Willis, P.M., Symula, R.E. & Lovette, I.J. Ecology, song similarity and phylogeny predict natural hybridization in an avian family. Evol Ecol 28, 299–322 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10682-013-9677-4

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