Mating with the wrong species can be right.
The evolutionary importance of interspecific hybridisation has been a controversial issue for quite some time. Some view mating between different species as a maladaptive process; others stress the adaptive value of choosing heterospecific mates under ecological conditions that favour hybrids. A recent paper by Pfennig is the first study to make a priori predictions of how adaptive choice between con- and heterospecific partners should vary with ecological conditions, and then testing these predictions experimentally.
Reyer
Heinz-Ulrich
HU
Institute of Zoology, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, CH-8057 Zurich, Switzerland. uli.reyer@zool.uzh.ch
D000222:Adaptation, Physiological; D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D002025:Bufonidae / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006824:Hybridization, Genetic; D008297:Male; D008954:Models, Biological; D012098:Reproduction; D012726:Sexual Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology*