Prevalence and diversity of haemosporidian parasites in the yellow-rumped warbler hybrid zone.

ABSTRACT: Parasites can play a role in speciation, by exerting different selection pressures on different host lineages, leading to reproductive barriers in regions of possible interbreeding. Hybrid zones therefore offer an ideal system to study the effect of parasites on speciation. Here, we study a hybrid zone in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains where two yellow-rumped warbler subspecies, Setophaga coronata coronata and S. c. auduboni, interbreed. There is partial reproductive isolation between them, but no evidence of strong assortative mating within the hybrid zone, suggesting the existence of a postzygotic selection against hybrids. Here, we test whether haemosporidian parasites might play a role in selecting against hybrids between S. c. coronata and S. c. auduboni<

SUBMITTER: Cozzarolo CS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6202724 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature