Speciation in hybrid zones in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest: a study in a contact zone of lineages of Synallaxis ruficapilla and S. whitneyi (Aves, Furnariidae)

• Grant number: 12/10796-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: January 01, 2013
• End date: July 31, 2013
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Genetics - Animal Genetics
• Principal Investigator: Cristina Yumi Miyaki
• Grantee: Henrique Batalha Filho
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IB). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Hybrid zones are known in Biology as "natural laboratories for evolutionary studies". Understanding the mechanisms that maintain frequencies of genotypic and phenotypic characters along hybrid zone is important to depict the crucial factors involved in the speciation process, such as stability and width of hybrid zones, and also allow us to understand the role of barriers during the evolutionary process. Recently, studies on diversification of endemic organisms from the Atlantic Forest identified some areas of secondary contact. However, detailed studies in these contact zones are still scarce. Here we propose to study a hybrid zone in the Atlantic Forest where lineages of S. ruficapilla and S. whitneyi meet. We will combine genetic (1 mitochondrial, 3 Z-linked, and 5 autossomal genes) and phenotypic (vocal characters) data to study the speciation process in this hybrid zone. Furthermore, we will analyze if there are differences in the estimate of the width of the hybrid zone based on data from the different genes and from vocalization, in order to infer if these characters show different levels of selective pressures or demographic histories. The results from this study will contribute to the understanding of the dynamics of speciation in the Atlantic Forest and the role of hybridization in secondary contact zones within this biome.