Scale-independent criteria and scale-dependent agents determining the structure of a ground cricket mosaic hybrid zone (Allonemobius socius - Allonemobius fasciatus)

Abstract

The structure of the hybrid zone between the ground crickets, Allonemobius socius and Allonemobius fasciatus, approximates an environmental mosaic based on temperature/moisture at regional spatial scales. In the present study, we show that the micro-geographic spatial structure (i.e. single fields) of this hybrid zone is governed by the same criteria. Thus, the criteria that structure this hybrid zone are scale independent, even though the agents that implement these criteria may differ at various scales (climate, latitude, and elevation at regional scales; grass height, slope aspect, and field use at micro-geographic scales). Additionally, the study demonstrates a previously unknown barrier to genetic exchange in this system that acts before conspecific sperm precedence. © 2008 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2008, 94, 777–796.