Secondary contact seeds phenotypic novelty in cichlid fishes.

ABSTRACT: Theory proposes that genomic admixture between formerly reproductively isolated populations can generate phenotypic novelty for selection to act upon. Secondary contact may therefore be a significant promoter of phenotypic novelty that allows species to overcome environmental challenges and adapt to novel environments, including during adaptive radiation. To date, this has largely been considered from the perspective of interspecific hybridization at contact zones. However, it is also possible that this process occurs more commonly between natural populations of a single species, and thus its importance in adaptive evolution may have been underestimated. In this study, we tested the consequences of genomic introgression during apparent secondary contact between phenotypically similar linea

SUBMITTER: Nichols P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4262179 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature