Abstract
Behavioural differences that prevent between-population mating are evolutionarily important if they decrease gene flow and thus facilitate further differentiation. Sexual incompatibility and divergence of mate recognition systems were tested between three geographically isolated populations of the North American mountain dusky salamander, Desmognathus ochrophaeus(Amphibia: Plethodontidae). Significant sexual incompatibility was detected in all pair-wise comparisons between these populations; thus mating was assortative with respect to population. Ethological analyses of the contents of within-population courtship encounters revealed significant quantitative differences between populations in five of 10 behavioural scores. These results support the hypothesis that individuals from isolated populations of D. ochrophaeus do not recognize one another as potential mating partners. Quantitative differences in mate recognition systems may be responsible for this lack of compatibility, and may have evolved incidentally as responses to sexual selection acting differently in each population.
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