Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 31, 2026
04:46
Isolation of Lymphocytes from Mouse Genital Tract Mucosa
Published on: September 3, 2012
14.9K
Are assortative mating and genital divergence driven by reinforcement?
Johan Hollander1, Mauricio Montaño-Rendón2, Giuseppe Bianco1
1Department of Biology, Aquatic Ecology Lund University 223 62 Lund Sweden.
Evolution Letters
|December 20, 2018
Summary
Reproductive character displacement drives assortative mating in marine snails, but not genital evolution. Reproductive interference, not reinforcement, explains this divergence after secondary contact.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary biology
- Speciation research
- Marine gastropod research
Background:
- Assortative mating and reproductive trait divergence are key to speciation.
- Distinguishing causes of reproductive character displacement (RCD) is challenging.
- Previous work showed greater genital divergence in overlapping Littorinidae snail species.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate RCD causes in a sister-species pair of marine snails (Littorinidae).
- Differentiate between reinforcement, reproductive interference, and the Templeton effect.
- Examine assortative mating and genital morphology divergence.
Main Methods:
- Comparative analysis of Littorinidae sister-species pairs.
- Investigated assortative mating and genital morphology in one pair.
- Employed demographic models to assess gene flow and evolutionary processes.
Main Results:
- Demonstrated RCD in assortative mating, but not genital form.
- Results support a model with no post-secondary contact gene flow.
- Reproductive interference favored over reinforcement for mate choice divergence.
Conclusions:
- Reproductive interference, not reinforcement, drives RCD in mate choice for this snail pair.
- High gene flow within species refutes the Templeton effect.
- Secondary contact had minimal impact on genital divergence.
Related Concept Videos
02:03Law of Independent Assortment
62.7K
While Mendel’s Law of Segregation states that the two alleles for one gene are separated into different gametes, a different question of how different genes are inherited remains. For example, is the gene for tall plants inherited with the gene for green peas? Mendel asked this question by experimenting with a dihybrid cross; a cross in which both parents are homozygous for two distinct traits resulting in an F1 generation that are heterozygous for both traits.
62.7K
01:15Divergence and Curl
3.2K
The divergence of a vector field at a point is the net outward flow of the flux out of a small volume through a closed surface enclosing the volume, as the volume tends to zero. More practically, divergence measures how much a vector field spreads out or diverges from a given point. For an outgoing flux, conventionally, the divergence is positive. The diverging point is often called the "source" of the field. Meanwhile, the negative divergence of a vector field at a point means that the vector...
3.2K
01:23Reinforcement
918
Positive and negative reinforcement are key concepts in operant conditioning, a learning process where the consequences of a behavior affect the likelihood of that behavior being repeated.
Positive reinforcement occurs when a behavior is followed by the presentation of a rewarding stimulus, increasing the frequency of that behavior. For example:
Positive reinforcement occurs when a behavior is followed by the presentation of a rewarding stimulus, increasing the frequency of that behavior. For example:
918
01:06Divergence and Stokes' Theorems
3.7K
The divergence and Stokes' theorems are a variation of Green's theorem in a higher dimension. They are also a generalization of the fundamental theorem of calculus. The divergence theorem and Stokes' theorem are in a way similar to each other; The divergence theorem relates to the dot product of a vector, while Stokes' theorem relates to the curl of a vector. Many applications in physics and engineering make use of the divergence and Stokes' theorems, enabling us to write...
3.7K
02:37Gene Duplication and Divergence
8.0K
The seminal work of Ohno in 1970 popularized the idea of gene duplication and divergence. DNA sequence comparison studies reveal that a large portion of the genes in bacteria, archaebacteria, and eukaryotes was generated by gene duplication and divergence, indicating its critical role in evolution.
The duplicated copies of the gene are called Paralogs. Paralogs with similar sequences and functions form a gene family. Across several species, a large number of gene families are...
The duplicated copies of the gene are called Paralogs. Paralogs with similar sequences and functions form a gene family. Across several species, a large number of gene families are...
8.0K
01:20Mate Choice
11.7K
Mate choice—the decision about whom to mate with—is a type of natural selection, since animals must reproduce to pass down their genes. Mate choice is also called intersexual selection because the behavior occurs between the sexes.
11.7K