Patterns of postzygotic isolation in frogs

Abstract

From literature data on 116 taxa crosses involving 46 species of frogs, we found a positive correlation between degree of divergence (measured as Nei's genetic distance, D) and degree of postzygotic isolation. In anurans, hybrid sterility appears to evolve more quickly than inviability, which is consistent with the conclusions of other studies that involved Drosophila species. The lower threshold of D = 0.30 for evolution of hybrid inviability that we found is similar to that observed for Drosophila. This consistency suggests that there may be a general pattern in the acquisition of reproductive isolation in animals.