Skip to main content
bioRxiv
  • Home
  • About
  • Submit
  • ALERTS / RSS
Advanced Search
New Results

Hybrid Songbirds are Deficient in Learning and Memory

Michael A. McQuillan, Timothy C. Roth II, Alex V. Huynh, Amber M. Rice
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/227298
Michael A. McQuillan
1Department of Biological Sciences, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, 18015, USA
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • For correspondence: mam612@lehigh.edu
Timothy C. Roth II
2Department of Psychology, Franklin & Marshall College, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, 17603, USA
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Alex V. Huynh
1Department of Biological Sciences, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, 18015, USA
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Amber M. Rice
1Department of Biological Sciences, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, 18015, USA
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • Abstract
  • Full Text
  • Info/History
  • Metrics
  • Supplementary material
  • Preview PDF
Loading

Abstract

Identifying the phenotypes underlying postzygotic reproductive isolation is crucial for fully understanding the evolution and maintenance of species. One potential postzygotic isolating barrier that has not yet been examined is learning and memory ability in hybrids. Learning and memory are important fitness-related traits, especially in scatter-hoarding species, where accurate retrieval of hoarded food is vital for winter survival. Here, we test the hypothesis that learning and memory ability can act as a postzygotic isolating barrier by comparing these traits among two scatter-hoarding songbird species, black-capped (Poecile atricapillus), Carolina chickadees (Poecile carolinensis), and their naturally occurring hybrids. In an outdoor aviary setting, we find that hybrid chickadees perform significantly worse on an associative learning spatial task and are worse at solving a novel problem compared to both parental species. Deficiencies in learning and memory abilities could therefore contribute to postzygotic reproductive isolation between chickadee species. Given the importance of learning and memory for fitness, our results suggest that these traits may play an important, but as yet overlooked, role in postzygotic reproductive isolation.

Copyright 
The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under a CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license.
Back to top
PreviousNext
Posted November 30, 2017.
Download PDF

Supplementary Material

Email

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word about bioRxiv.

NOTE: Your email address is requested solely to identify you as the sender of this article.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
Hybrid Songbirds are Deficient in Learning and Memory
(Your Name) has forwarded a page to you from bioRxiv
(Your Name) thought you would like to see this page from the bioRxiv website.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Share
Hybrid Songbirds are Deficient in Learning and Memory
Michael A. McQuillan, Timothy C. Roth II, Alex V. Huynh, Amber M. Rice
bioRxiv 227298; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/227298
Digg logo Reddit logo Twitter logo Facebook logo Google logo LinkedIn logo Mendeley logo
Citation Tools
Hybrid Songbirds are Deficient in Learning and Memory
Michael A. McQuillan, Timothy C. Roth II, Alex V. Huynh, Amber M. Rice
bioRxiv 227298; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/227298

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Google Plus One

Subject Area

  • Evolutionary Biology
Subject Areas
All Articles
  • Animal Behavior and Cognition (4078)
  • Biochemistry (8750)
  • Bioengineering (6467)
  • Bioinformatics (23314)
  • Biophysics (11719)
  • Cancer Biology (9133)
  • Cell Biology (13227)
  • Clinical Trials (138)
  • Developmental Biology (7403)
  • Ecology (11360)
  • Epidemiology (2066)
  • Evolutionary Biology (15076)
  • Genetics (10390)
  • Genomics (14000)
  • Immunology (9109)
  • Microbiology (22025)
  • Molecular Biology (8772)
  • Neuroscience (47312)
  • Paleontology (350)
  • Pathology (1418)
  • Pharmacology and Toxicology (2480)
  • Physiology (3701)
  • Plant Biology (8043)
  • Scientific Communication and Education (1427)
  • Synthetic Biology (2206)
  • Systems Biology (6009)
  • Zoology (1247)