Competition and hybridization drive interspecific territoriality in birds.

ABSTRACT: Costly interactions between species that arise as a by-product of ancestral similarities in communication signals are expected to persist only under specific evolutionary circumstances. Territorial aggression between species, for instance, is widely assumed to persist only when extrinsic barriers prevent niche divergence or selection in sympatry is too weak to overcome gene flow from allopatry. However, recent theoretical and comparative studies have challenged this view. Here we present a large-scale, phylogenetic analysis of the distribution and determinants of interspecific territoriality. We find that interspecific territoriality is widespread in birds and strongly associated with hybridization and resource overlap during the breeding season. Contrary to the view that territoriality on

SUBMITTER: Drury JP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7293658 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature