Fluctuating Asymmetry in Naturally Hybridizing Populations

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Hybrid zones are geographic areas where recently diverged species or subspecies come into secondary contact and interbreed with varying success. In doing so, hybrid organisms are produced by the combination of genes that have diverged evolutionarily, and may therefore function less well than the matings between members of the same species or subspecies. One important aspect of this genetic incompatibility is the disruption of development (the growth of an individual from embryo to adult). This disruption can be manifest by left-right asymmetry of an individual. Dr. Robert Owen proposes to gather morphological data on left-right asymmetry of mammals in four different well- studied hybrid zones in order to determine the correlation between genetic divergence and developmental disruption. He proposes to use a microcomputer-based image analysis system to gather skeletal measurements from specimens from which a variety of genetic data have been gathered in earlier studies. The proposed project will add an unprecedented body of detailed morphological data to our existing knowledge of hybrid zones, thereby opening a new window onto the questions of evolutionary divergence, and the genetic control of development.