A sexually selected character displacement in flycatchers reinforces premating isolation

Glenn-Peter Stre (), Truls Moum, Stanislav Bureš, Miroslav Král, Martin Adamjan and Juan Moreno
Additional contact information
Glenn-Peter Stre: University of Oslo
Truls Moum: Institute of Medical Biology, University of Tromsø
Stanislav Bureš: ‡Palacký University, Laboratory of Ornithology, Tř
Miroslav Král: §Forestry Commission
Martin Adamjan: ‖Zoological Museum
Juan Moreno: ¶Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, J. Guiterrez Abascal 2

Nature, 1997, vol. 387, issue 6633, 589-592

Abstract: Abstract Theory suggests that natural selection against the production of unfit hybrids may reinforce barriers to gene flow, eventually leading to reproductive isolation of differentiated populations1,2,3,4. This mode of speciation may be achieved by female choice selecting for a divergence in male secondary sexual traits that facilitates species recognition. Although intuitively appealing, conclusive evidence for such reinforcement is generally lacking5,6,7,8, and serious doubts have been raised about its validity9,10,11. We have tested key predictions of the reinforcement hypothesis on the European, black-and-white, Ficedula flycatchers, using molecular techniques, field observations and mate choice experiments. In populations where two species coexist, we show that female choice selects for a divergence in male plumage colour and that the resulting character displacement reduces the frequency of hybridization.

Date: 1997
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DOI: 10.1038/42451

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