The mosaic distribution pattern of two sister bush-cricket species and the possible role of reproductive interference.

ABSTRACT: Reproductive interference can shape regional distribution patterns in closely related species, if prezygotic isolation barriers are weak. The study of such interaction could be more challenging in nuptial gift-giving species due to the direct nutritional effects on both sexes of both species during copulation. We mapped the distribution of two sister bush-cricket species, Pholidoptera aptera and Pholidoptera transsylvanica, at the northern margin of their overlapping ranges in Europe, and with a behavioral experiment, we tested the possibility of heterospecific mating. We found a very rare coexistence of species locally (0.5%, n = 391 sites) with mostly mutually exclusive distribution patterns, resulting in a mosaic pattern of sympatry, whereas they occupied the same c

SUBMITTER: Dorkova M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7069280 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature