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Microhabitat use of northern and southern flying squirrels in a recent hybrid zone

View ORCID ProfilePaul P O’Brien, View ORCID ProfileJeff Bowman, Sasha Newar, View ORCID ProfileColin J Garroway
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.05.26.542188
Paul P O’Brien
1Department of Biological Sciences, University of Manitoba, Sifton Road, Winnipeg, MB, R3T 2N2, Canada
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  • For correspondence: obrienp1@myumanitoba.ca
Jeff Bowman
2Environmental and Life Sciences Graduate Program, Trent University, 1600 West Bank Drive, Peterborough, ON, K9L 0G2, Canada
3Wildlife Research and Monitoring Section, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, Trent University, 2140 East Bank Drive, Peterborough, ON, K9L 0G2, Canada
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Sasha Newar
2Environmental and Life Sciences Graduate Program, Trent University, 1600 West Bank Drive, Peterborough, ON, K9L 0G2, Canada
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Colin J Garroway
1Department of Biological Sciences, University of Manitoba, Sifton Road, Winnipeg, MB, R3T 2N2, Canada
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Abstract

Secondary contact of closely related species may lead to hybridization if reproductive isolation is incomplete. Selection against hybrids may become reinforced if hybrid fitness is low. This can be evident from the divergence of isolating traits. We examined habitat use of northern (Glaucomys sabrinus (Shaw, 1801)) and southern (Glaucomys volans (Linnaeus, 1758)) flying squirrels in an area of secondary contact in Ontario, Canada. We looked at summer microhabitat use within sites of sympatry and allopatry to test for evidence of reinforcement due to diverging habitat use. We also examined differences in broad-scale habitat features at woodlots to determine predictors of species occurrence across sites. We used 18 years (2002 - 2019) of flying squirrel summer capture data from 6 sites along a north-south transect. Vegetation surveys were conducted at trap locations during summer 2016 to characterize the available microhabitats within sites. Site-level habitat variables were calculated using the collected microhabitat variables. We found microhabitat variables to be weak predictors of trap-level flying squirrel presence and we found no evidence of divergence in microhabitat use over the 18 years. Further, we found latitude, not broad-scale habitat, was the strongest predictor of site-level flying squirrel occurrence. Overall, our findings suggest that microhabitat-based isolation is not being reinforced between flying squirrels; however, hybridization may be limited to areas where climate and habitat is suitable for both species.

Competing Interest Statement

The authors have declared no competing interest.

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The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. All rights reserved. No reuse allowed without permission.
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Posted May 29, 2023.
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Microhabitat use of northern and southern flying squirrels in a recent hybrid zone
Paul P O’Brien, Jeff Bowman, Sasha Newar, Colin J Garroway
bioRxiv 2023.05.26.542188; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.05.26.542188
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Microhabitat use of northern and southern flying squirrels in a recent hybrid zone
Paul P O’Brien, Jeff Bowman, Sasha Newar, Colin J Garroway
bioRxiv 2023.05.26.542188; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.05.26.542188

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