Rapid hybrid speciation in Darwin’s finches

• DOI: 10.1126/science.aao4593
• Publication Date: 2017-11-23T19:10:33Z
• Authors: Sangeet Lamichhaney; Fan Han; Matthew T. Webster; Leif Andersson; B. Rosemary Grant; Peter R. Grant
• Keywords: Male; 0301 basic medicine; Reproductive Isolation; Time Factors; Genetic Speciation; Homozygote; Beak; Breeding; 03 medical and health sciences; Animals; Hybridization, Genetic; Female; Ecuador; Finches; Selection, Genetic; Ecosystem; Phylogeny

Rapid hybrid speciation in Darwin's finches

Galapagos finches have driven hypotheses of how speciation occurs. Most commonly, it is assumed that natural selection separates species originating from a single population on the basis of variation in traits that confer advantages for survival and reproduction. Lamichhaney et al. document a case where cross-species hybridization established a reproductively isolated lineage, which demonstrates a process known as homoploid hybrid speciation in action (see the Perspective by Wagner). The authors used genetic markers and phenotypic analyses to create a pedigree that revealed how a cross-island migrant bred with a native species to form a self-perpetuating hybrid population that was reproductively isolated from both parental species.

Science , this issue p. 224 ; see also p. 157