title: Partial reproductive isolation of a recently derived resident-freshwater population of threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) from its putative anadromous ancestor.
abstract: We used no-choice mating trials to test for assortative mating between a newly derived resident-freshwater population (8-22 generations since founding) of threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) in Loberg Lake, Alaska and its putative anadromous ancestor as well as a morphologically convergent but distantly related resident-freshwater population. Partial reproductive isolation has evolved between the Loberg Lake population and its ancestor within a remarkably short time period. However, Loberg stickleback readily mate with morphologically similar, but distantly related resident-freshwater stickleback. Partial premating isolation is asymmetrical; anadromous females and smaller resident-freshwater males from Loberg Lake readily mate, but the anadromous males and smaller Loberg females do not. Our results indicate that premating isolation can begin to evolve in allopatry within a few generations after isolation as a correlated effect of evolution of reduced body size.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alaska Anchorage, Anchorage, Alaska 99508, USA. cgfurin@alaska.edu
authors.forename: Christoff G
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Furin
authors.forename: Frank A
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: von Hippel
authors.forename: Michael A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Bell
mesh_terms: D000220:Adaptation, Biological; D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D049810:Genetic Speciation; D008297:Male; D052586:Mating Preference, Animal; D060047:Reproductive Isolation; D023701:Smegmamorpha