The evolution of species recognition in competitive and mating contexts: the relative efficacy of alternative mechanisms of character displacement

Sympatric divergence in traits affecting species recognition can result from selection against cross‐species mating (reproductive character displacement, RCD) or interspecific aggression (agonistic character displacement, ACD). When the same traits are used for species recognition in both contexts,...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Ecology letters 2013-05, Vol.16 (5), p.670-678
Main Authors: Okamoto, Kenichi W., Grether, Gregory F.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aggression
Animal and plant ecology
Animal reproduction
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Animals
Biological and medical sciences
Biological Evolution
character displacement
competitor recognition
Evolution & development
Female
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
General aspects
Hetaerina
interspecific aggression
Male
mate recognition
mistaken identity
Models, Biological
Models, Theoretical
Multifactorial Inheritance
Odonata
Pigmentation
Reproduction
reproductive interference
Selection, Genetic
Sexual Behavior, Animal
species recognition
Wings, Animal
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Summary:Sympatric divergence in traits affecting species recognition can result from selection against cross‐species mating (reproductive character displacement, RCD) or interspecific aggression (agonistic character displacement, ACD). When the same traits are used for species recognition in both contexts, empirically disentangling the relative contributions of RCD and ACD to observed character shifts may be impossible. Here, we develop a theoretical framework for partitioning the effects of these processes. We show that when both mate and competitor recognition depend on the same trait, RCD sets the pace of character shifts. Moreover, RCD can cause divergence in competitor recognition, but ACD cannot cause divergence in mate recognition. This asymmetry arises because males with divergent recognition traits may avoid needless interspecific conflicts, but suffer reduced attractiveness to conspecific females. Therefore, the key empirical issue is whether the same or different traits are used for mate recognition and competitor recognition.
ISSN:1461-023X
1461-0248
DOI:10.1111/ele.12100