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Male and female contributions to behavioral isolation in darters as a function of genetic distance and color distance - PubMed

. 2017 Oct;71(10):2428-2444.

doi: 10.1111/evo.13321. Epub 2017 Sep 14.

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Male and female contributions to behavioral isolation in darters as a function of genetic distance and color distance

Rachel L Moran et al. Evolution. 2017 Oct.

Abstract

Determining which reproductive isolating barriers arise first between geographically isolated lineages is critical to understanding allopatric speciation. We examined behavioral isolation among four recently diverged allopatric species in the orangethroat darter clade (Etheostoma: Ceasia). We also examined behavioral isolation between each Ceasia species and the sympatric rainbow darter Etheostoma caeruleum. We asked (1) is behavioral isolation present between allopatric Ceasia species, and how does this compare to behavioral isolation with E. caeruleum, (2) does male color distance and/or genetic distance predict behavioral isolation between species, and (3) what are the relative contributions of female choice, male choice, and male competition to behavioral isolation? We found that behavioral isolation, genetic differentiation, and male color pattern differentiation were present between allopatric Ceasia species. Males, but not females, discerned between conspecific and heterospecific mates. Males also directed more aggression toward conspecific rival males. The high levels of behavioral isolation among Ceasia species showed no obvious pattern with genetic distance or male color distance. However, when the E. caeruleum was included in the analysis, an association between male aggression and male color distance was apparent. We discuss the possibility that reinforcement between Ceasia and E. caeruleum is driving behavioral isolation among allopatric Ceasia species.

Keywords: Behavioral isolation; color pattern; genetic distance; population divergence; reinforcement; sexual selection; speciation.

© 2017 The Author(s). Evolution published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of The Society for the Study of Evolution.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1

Males from each of the five species examined in this study: (A) Etheostoma fragi, (B) E. uniporum, (C) E. burri, (D) E. spectabile, and (E) E. caeruleum.

Figure 2
Figure 2

Experimental design for behavioral assays. A male and female Ceasia focal pair was used in three consecutive trial treatments in which the rival male was either (A) a conspecific Ceasia, (B) a heterospecific allopatric Ceasia, or (C) a sympatric E. caeruleum.

Figure 3
Figure 3

Behavioral isolation indices with 95% confidence intervals for (A) male aggression, (B) male choice, and (C) female choice versus Nei's genetic distance (DST). Each point represents an individual pairwise species comparison. Ceasia–Ceasia comparisons are shown in black and Ceasia‐E. caeruleum comparisons are shown in gray.

Figure 4
Figure 4

Behavioral isolation indices for (A) male aggression, (B) male choice, and (C) female choice versus male color distance (MCD). Each point represents an individual pairwise species comparison. Ceasia–Ceasia comparisons are shown in black and Ceasia‐E. caeruleum comparisons are shown in gray.

Figure 5
Figure 5

Rival male behavior toward focal males and focal females. (A–C) Species set 1F with E. fragi as the focal pair and conspecific Ceasia rival male, and E. uniporum as the allopatric Ceasia rival male. (D–F) Species set 1R with E. uniporum as the focal pair and conspecific Ceasia rival male, and E. fragi as the allopatric Ceasia rival male. (A, D) Rival male attacks on focal male. (B, E) Rival male fin flares at focal male. (C, F) Rival male pursuit of focal female.

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