Published 2019 | Version v1
Journal article Restricted

Comparative phylogeography and asymmetric hybridization between cryptic bat species

Description

(Uploaded by Plazi for the Bat Literature Project) Cryptic speciation and hybridization are two key processes that affect the origin and maintenance of biodiversity and our ability to understand and estimate it. To determine how these two processes interact, we studied allopatric and sympatric colonies of two cryptic bat species (Eptesicus serotinus and Eptesicus isabellinus) with parapatric distribution in the Iberian Peninsula. These species are the main reservoir for the most commonly rabies virus found in bats in Europe: the European bat Lyssavirus type 1 (EBLV‐1). We used mtDNA and nuclear microsatellite markers to confirm the taxonomic status of both species and to show a more pronounced and geographically based genetic structure in E. isabellinus than in its sibling E. serotinus. Using approximate Bayesian computation (ABC), we inferred rapid range expansion in both species after the Last Glacial Maximum until reaching their present distributions. ABC analysis also supported interspecific differences in genetic diversity and structure, pointing to an earlier expansion of E. isabellinus northward. We found no evidence of mitochondrial introgression between species, but nuclear markers identified a male‐mediated ongoing asymmetric hybridization from E. isabellinus to E. serotinus (28% hybrids in E. serotinus and 5% in E. isabellinus) in the contact zone. Although none of the bats studied tested positive for Lyssavirus RNA, the asymmetric hybridization supports the potential for the recently suggested interspecific transmission of EBLV‐1 from E. isabellinus into E. serotinus.

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Additional details

Identifiers

URL
hash://md5/6e00a8e7f20d7aaf25a552efb4061a5b
URN
urn:lsid:zotero.org:groups:5435545:items:6PQ88Q69
DOI
10.1111/jzs.12318

Biodiversity

Class
Mammalia
Kingdom
Animalia
Order
Chiroptera
Phylum
Chordata