Hybridization in the Cetacea: widespread occurrence and associated morphological, behavioral, and ecological factors.

ABSTRACT: Hybridization has been documented in a many different pairs of cetacean species both in captivity and in the wild. The widespread occurrence of hybridization indicates that postmating barriers to interbreeding are incomplete within the order Cetacea, and therefore raises questions about how species integrity is maintained in the face of interspecific (and often intergeneric) gene flow. We examined hybridization across the order Cetacea (oceanic species included: N = 78; species with 44 chromosomes included: N = 52) to test for associations between the occurrence of hybridization and similarity across 13 ecological, morphological and behavioral traits in hybridizing vs. non-hybridizing species pairs. We found that species pairs that share a greater number of traits had a higher propensity t

SUBMITTER: Crossman CA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4775523 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature