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发帖数: 11604 | 1 "Hybrid Songbirds are Deficient in Learning and Memory"
https://www.biorxiv.org/content/early/2017/11/30/227298
Abstract
Identifying the phenotypes underlying postzygotic reproductive isolation is
crucial for fully understanding the evolution and maintenance of species.
One potential postzygotic isolating barrier that has not yet been examined
is learning and memory ability in hybrids. Learning and memory are important
fitness-related traits, especially in scatter-hoarding species, where
accurate retrieval of hoarded food is vital for winter survival. Here, we
test the hypothesis that learning and memory ability can act as a
postzygotic isolating barrier by comparing these traits among two scatter-
hoarding songbird species, black-capped (Poecile atricapillus), Carolina
chickadees (Poecile carolinensis), and their naturally occurring hybrids. In
an outdoor aviary setting, we find that hybrid chickadees perform
significantly worse on an associative learning spatial task and are worse at
solving a novel problem compared to both parental species. Deficiencies in
learning and memory abilities could therefore contribute to postzygotic
reproductive isolation between chickadee species. Given the importance of
learning and memory for fitness, our results suggest that these traits may
play an important, but as yet overlooked, role in postzygotic reproductive
isolation. |
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