On the fast track: Hybrids adapt more rapidly than parental populations in a novel environment

Here we use simulations and Fisher’s Geometric model to evaluate the conditions and time frame of adaptation via hybridization in both diploids and haplodiploids. We find that hybrids adapt faster to new environments compared to parental populations in nearly all simulated scenarios, generating a fitness advantage that can offset intrinsic incompatibilities and last for tens of generations, regardless of whether the population was diploid or haplodiploid.

Our results highlight the creative role of hybridization and suggest that hybridization may help contemporary populations adapt to the changing climate. However, adaptation by hybrids may well happen at the cost of reduced biodiversity, if previously isolated lineages collapse into one.

Methods

This dataset contains a collection of SLiM 3.6 (Haller & Messer, 2019) simulation scripts used for the paper "Kulmuni, Wiley, Otto. 2023. On the fast track: hybrids adapt more rapidly than parental populations in a novel environment".

Usage notes

SLiM 3.6 (Haller & Messer, 2019)