Morphology, genetics, and ecology of pocket gophers (genus Geomys) in a narrow hybrid zone
نویسنده
چکیده
A population of hybrid pocket gophers (Geomys bursarius x G. lutesccns) exists 1-2 km west of Oakdale, Antelope County, Nebraska, U.S.A. The hybrids occur in soil that has characteristics intermediate between that occupied by G. lutescens (sand) and by G. bursorim (silt loam); the vegetation associations on the different soils are Sandhills Prairie and Tall-grass Prairie, respectively, with mixed prairie on the intermediate soils. Hybrids are identifiable on the basis of both qualitative and quantitative morphological characteristics, allozymes and karyology. Concordance between morphological, allozymic, karyotypic and ecological data sets is very high. Hybrids appear to reproduce normally and survive well; i.e. they suffer no obvious loss of fitness. Barkcrossing to either parental type is apparently rare. The parental species each support obligate parasitic lirr (Geomydoecus: Trichodectidae) of different species; these species are not sister species. We suggest that hybrid zones resulting from primary and secondary contact may be distinguished by ( I ) roncordance of clines in different character sets, (2) fossil and biogeographic data, and (3) parasite data. We conclude that this zone resulted from secondary contact, and that the zone is maintained either by selection against hybrids (less likely) or by hybrid superiority (more likely).
منابع مشابه
Cestodes of the Genus Hymenolepis Weinland, 1858 Sensu Stricto from Pocket Gophers Geomys and Thomomys spp. (Rodentia: Geomyidae) in Colorado and Oregon, with a Discriminant Analysis of Four Species of Hymenolepis
متن کامل
Ribosomal-dna, Mitochondrial-dna, Chromosomal, and Allozymic Studies on a Contact Zone in the Pocket Gopher, Geomys.
We studied 75 individuals of the Plains pocket gopher, Geomys bursarius, from eastern New Mexico, where the subspecies major and knoxjonesi hybridize. Each individual was examined for chromosome number, ribosomal DNA, mitochondrial DNA, and three protein systems for which reference parental populations were fixed for alternative alleles. Twenty individuals were indistinguishable from parental m...
متن کاملAn evaluation of two traps and sets for trapping the plains pocket gopher
We investigated the efficiency of DK-1 and Macabee® pocket gopher (Geomys bursarius) traps placed in lateral tunnels in both open and closed tunnel sets in rangeland and nonirrigated alfalfa fields in Nebraska. We observed no statistical difference between the traps in capture efficiency when used in open, versus closed, tunnel sets. Trapping of pocket gophers was more effective in rangeland (p...
متن کاملGeomys bursarius (Rodentia: Geomyidae)
Geomys bursarius (Shaw, 1800) is a geomyid commonly called the plains pocket gopher. A stocky rodent morphologically adapted for a fossorial life, it is 1 of 11 species in the genus Geomys. It occurs in southern Manitoba, Canada, and throughout the central United States southward to Texas. It prefers open grasslands and agricultural fields and is considered an economic pest. The subspecies G. b...
متن کاملArthropod and helminth parasites from the Plains Pocket Gopher, Geomys bursarius bursarius from the hosts' northern boundary range in Minnesota.
As part of a continuing and more general study of the diversity of parasites from subterranean mammals in central North America, individuals of the Plains Pocket Gopher, Geomys bursarius bursarius, were collected from 7 localities in northwestern Minnesota from September 1991 through October 1996. Arthropods collected included the fleas, Opisocrostis bruneri (4 of 124, 3.2%), Foxella ignota ign...
متن کاملذخیره در منابع من
با ذخیره ی این منبع در منابع من، دسترسی به آن را برای استفاده های بعدی آسان تر کنید
عنوان ژورنال:
دوره شماره
صفحات -
تاریخ انتشار 2007