Hybridization and extinction

Hybridization and extinction

Hybridization may drive rare taxa to extinction through genetic swamping, where the rare form is replaced by hybrids, or by demographic swamping, where population growth rates are reduced due to the wasteful production of maladaptive hybrids. Conversely, hybridization may rescue the viability of small, inbred populations. Understanding the factors that contribute to destructive versus construct...

Polarization-extinction-based detection of DNA hybridization in situ using a nanoparticle wire-grid polarizer.

Metallic wires can discriminate light polarization due to strong absorption of electric fields oscillating in parallel to wires. Here, we explore polarization-based biosensing of DNA hybridization in situ by employing metal target-conjugated nanoparticles to form a wire-grid polarizer (WGP) as complementary DNA strands hybridize. Experimental results using gold nanoparticles of 15 nm diameter t...

A General Model of Distant Hybridization Reveals the Conditions for Extinction in Atlantic Salmon and Brown Trout

Interspecific hybridization is common in nature but can be increased in frequency or even originated by human actions, such as species introduction or habitat modification, which may threaten species persistence. When hybridization occurs between distantly related species, referred to as "distant hybridization," the resulting hybrids are generally infertile or fertile but do not undergo chromos...

Neural Plasticity of Extinction: Relations with Anxiety and Extinction Retention

Context, learning, and extinction.

A. Redish et al. (2007) proposed a reinforcement learning model of context-dependent learning and extinction in conditioning experiments, using the idea of "state classification" to categorize new observations into states. In the current article, the authors propose an interpretation of this idea in terms of normative statistical inference. They focus on renewal and latent inhibition, 2 conditi...