Porous barriers? Assessment of gene flow within and among sympatric long-eared bat species.

ABSTRACT: Species are the basic units for measuring biodiversity and for comprehending biological interactions. Yet, their delineation is often contentious, especially in groups that are both diverse and phenotypically conservative. Three cryptic species of long-eared bats, Plecotus auritus, P. austriacus, and P. macrobullaris, co-occur over extensive areas of Western Europe. The latter is a fairly recent discovery, questioning the overall diversity of the entire Plecotus complex. Yet, high morphological and acoustic similarities compromise the reliable identification of long-eared bats in the field. We postulate that such extensive phenotypic overlap, along with the recurrent observation of morphologically intermediate individuals, may hide rampant interspecific hybridiz

SUBMITTER: Andriollo T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6309003 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature