title: Incomplete premating and postmating reproductive barriers between two parapatric populations of a social spider mite.
abstract: Closely related species with overlapping distributions often show premating reproductive barriers to avoid hybridization. Stigmaeopsis miscanthi (Saito) is a social spider mite infesting Chinese silver grass, and the species consists of two parapatric groups with frequent contacts within the contact zone. They differ in male-male aggressiveness, male morphology, female diapause traits, and life history parameters. There is incomplete but strong post-mating reproductive isolation between the two groups, and their DNA sequences are slightly different, suggesting that they diverged recently. In this study, we investigated premating reproductive barriers. We found that females from different groups frequently shared nest webs, indicating no barriers in the phase of nest establishment. However, inside nests, males from either group showed less courtship behaviour to females of the other group and they copulated less frequently with them when compared to females of the same group. However, the premating reproductive barrier was incomplete and asymmetric. Females of one group frequently resisted courtship by males from the other group, but females of the other group did not. We conclude that some gene flow may occur in the contact zone between the two groups.
authors: Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, P.O. Box 94240, 1090 GE, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, uchietan@gmail.com.
authors: Yukie
authors: Y
authors: Sato
authors: Johannes A J
authors: JA
authors: Breeuwer
authors: Martijn
authors: M
authors: Egas
authors: Maurice W
authors: MW
authors: Sabelis
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D051456:Gene Flow; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D008925:Mites; D009425:Nesting Behavior; D060047:Reproductive Isolation; D012726:Sexual Behavior, Animal
references: Trends Ecol Evol. 2004 Jul;19(7):372-8
references: 16701288
references: Nat Genet. 2006 Sep;38(9):1023-31
references: 16906161
references: J Anim Ecol. 2007 Jul;76(4):633-42
references: 17584368
references: Exp Appl Acarol. 2008 Apr;44(4):265-76
references: 18392941
references: Exp Appl Acarol. 2008 Jun;45(1-2):53-7
references: 18523849
references: Evolution. 2009 Oct;63(10):2563-80
references: 19490076
references: J Anim Ecol. 2012 Sep;81(5):1077-85
references: 22537074
references: Exp Appl Acarol. 2013 Jul;60(3):313-20
references: 23242933
references: Exp Appl Acarol. 2013 Aug;60(4):451-61
references: 23420143
references: Evolution. 2013 Jul;67(7):2083-93
references: 23815661
references: Ecol Evol. 2013 Aug;3(8):2661-9
references: 24567830
references: Heredity (Edinb). 2014 Dec;113(6):495-502
references: 24865602
references: Evolution. 1995 Jun;49(3):413-417
references: 28565077