Climate-mediated hybrid zone movement revealed with genomics, musuem collection, and simulation modeling

Abstract

The biological consequences of climate change are determined by the responses of individual species and interactions among species. Hybridization, or interbreeding between related species, is an interaction that affects how species evolve in response to environmental change. Here we provide evidence that climatic warming has caused a geographic shift of a butterfly hybrid zone and that strong selection and/or genetic incompatibilities maintain species boundaries during this movement. Through simulations, we show that as climate change progresses, the rate and geographic configuration of future hybrid zone movement will vary across space and time. This geographic variation in future hybrid zone movement may lead to divergent ecological and evolutionary outcomes, and thus has implications for local conservation and management.