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 major, 14 individuals were indistinguishable from parental knoxjonesi, and 41 individuals had genotypes composed of combinations of character states that distinguish the two parental types. The parental types appear to represent discrete genetic entities that have restricted introgression across a narrow hybrid zone (width approximately 3 km, using the 20/80 criterion). Parental types overlap in geographic distribution near the center of the zone, and changes in mitochondrial DNA and the five nuclear markers are concordant across the zone. It is probable that there is premating isolation between knoxjonesi males and major females. The frequencies of individuals with certain genotypic combinations within our sample imply differential reproductive success of certain genotypes. We propose that F₁ 's and highly heterozygous males are sterile and that hybrid females are less fertile than parental females. These postmating factors, along with premating isolation for one of the reciprocal crosses, probably account for the restriction of gene flow across the contact zone. The structure of the zone can be explained by the "dynamic equilibrium" model.