Fitness consequences of targeted gene flow to counter impacts of drying climates on terrestrial-breeding frogs.

ABSTRACT: Targeted gene flow (TGF) could bolster the adaptive potential of isolated populations threatened by climate change, but could also lead to outbreeding depression. Here, we explore these possibilities by creating mixed- and within-population crosses in a terrestrial-breeding frog species threatened by a drying climate. We reared embryos of the crawling frog (Pseudophryne guentheri) on wet and dry soils and quantified fitness-related traits upon hatching. TGF produced mixed outcomes in hybrids, which depended on crossing direction (origin of gametes from each sex). North-south crosses led to low embryonic survival if eggs were of a southern origin, and high malformation rates when eggs were from a northern population. Conversely, east-west crosses led to one instance of hybrid vigour, eviden

SUBMITTER: Rudin-Bitterli TS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8523558 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature