• Energy Research

Divergence in the onset of reproduction can act as an important source of reproductive isolation (i.e., allochronic isolation) between co-occurring young species, but evidence for the evolutionary processes leading to such divergence is often indirect. While advancing spring seasons strongly affect the onset of reproduction in many taxa, it remains largely unexplored whether contemporary spring advancement directly affects allochronic isolation between young species. We examined how increasing spring temperatures affected onset of reproduction and thereby hybridization between pied and collared flycatchers (Ficedula spp.) across habitat types in a young secondary contact zone. We found that both species have advanced their timing of breeding in 14 years. However, selection on pied flycatchers to breed earlier was weaker, resulting in a slower response to advancing springs compared to collared flycatchers and thereby build-up of allochronic isolation between the species. We argue that a preadaptation to a broader niche use (diet) of pied flycatchers explains the slower response to raising spring temperature, but that reduced risk to hybridize may contribute to further divergence in the onset of breeding in the future. Our results show that minor differences in the response to environmental change of co-occurring closely related species can quickly cause allochronic isolation.

Competition-driven evolution of habitat isolation is an important mechanism of ecological speciation but empirical support for this process is often indirect. We examined how an on-going displacement of pied flycatchers from their preferred breeding habitat by collared flycatchers in a young secondary contact zone is associated with (a) access to an important food resource (caterpillar larvae), (b) immigration of pied flycatchers in relation to habitat quality, and (c) the risk of hybridization in relation to habitat quality. Over the past 12 years, the estimated access to caterpillar larvae biomass in the habitat surrounding the nests of pied flycatchers has decreased by a fifth due to shifted establishment possibilities, especially for immigrants. However, breeding in the high quality habitat has become associated with such a high risk of hybridization for pied flycatchers that overall selection currently favors pied flycatchers that were forced to immigrate into the poorer habitats (despite lower access to preferred food items). Our results show that competition-driven habitat segregation can lead to fast habitat isolation, which per se caused an opportunity for selection to act in favor of future "voluntarily" altered immigration patterns and possibly strengthened habitat isolation through reinforcement.