Population differentiation and restricted gene flow in Spanish crossbills: not isolation-by-distance but isolation-by-ecology

Divergent selection stemming from environmental variation may induce local adaptation and ecological speciation whereas gene flow might have a homogenizing effect. Gene flow among populations using different environ- ments can be reduced by geographical distance (isolation-by-distance) or by diverge...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Edelaar, Pim, Alonso, D., Lagerveld, S., Björklund, M.
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2012
País:España
Institución:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
Repositorio:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
OAI Identifier:oai:digital.csic.es:10261/51867
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10261/51867
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:divergent selection
ecological speciation
gene flow
landscape genetics
Loxia curvirostra
population divergence
reproductive isolation
resource specialization
Descripción
Sumario:Divergent selection stemming from environmental variation may induce local adaptation and ecological speciation whereas gene flow might have a homogenizing effect. Gene flow among populations using different environ- ments can be reduced by geographical distance (isolation-by-distance) or by divergent selection stemming from resource use (isolation-by-ecology). We tested for and encountered phenotypic and genetic divergence among Spanish crossbills utilizing different species of co-occurring pine trees as their food resource. Morphological, vocal and mtDNA divergence were not correlated with geographical distance, but they were correlated with differences in resource use. Resource diversity has now been found to repeatedly predict crossbill diversity. However, when resource use is not 100% differentiated, additional characters (morphological, vocal, genetic) must be used to uncover and validate hidden population structure. In general, this confirms that ecology drives adaptive divergence and limits neutral gene flow as the first steps towards ecological speciation, unprevented by a high potential for gene flow.