COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: Assessing temperature-related changes in introgression of hybridizing species across time and space

Michigan State University, East Lansing MI

Investigators

Abstract

Global climate change is altering patterns of biodiversity by changing when and where species live. Species that hybridize with a related species at their geographic range boundary could be affected in new ways by climate change. Several outcomes are possible: the geographic range of both species could shift congruently with little change in hybridization, individual traits that are shared across the hybrid zone could shift while other traits remain stable, hybridization could fall apart as the species move independently, or there could be little change in hybridization patterns and species boundaries. The investigators will explore the effect of changing climatic conditions on hybridization patterns using two species of swallowtail butterfly. The zone of contact between these two species was studied in the past and the investigators will compare the historical data to modern samples. They will use a variety of genetic traits to make this comparison. In addition, experiments with hybrid crosses will test how individuals perform under winter warming, summer heat stress, and extreme winter cold, factors that have changed in the recent past. This project is likely to become an example of how climate modifies patterns of genetic diversity. In conjunction with this project, the investigators will develop management recommendations for the conservation of species affected by climate change. Furthermore, students working on this project will participate in MSU's 'Bug House', a program that uses insects to introduce K-8 grade students to scientific concepts. Finally, all of the graduate students and postdocs working on this project will collaborate on a wiki that facilitates cross-institutional research.