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Drivers of Introgression and Fitness in the Saltmarsh-Nelson's Sparrow Hybrid Zone Logan Maxwell University of New Hampshire, Durham

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Drivers of Introgression and Fitness in the Saltmarsh-Nelson's Sparrow Hybrid Zone Logan Maxwell University of New Hampshire, Durham View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by UNH Scholars' Repository University of New Hampshire University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository Master's Theses and Capstones Student Scholarship Fall 2018 Drivers of introgression and fitness in the Saltmarsh-Nelson's Sparrow hybrid zone Logan Maxwell University of New Hampshire, Durham Follow this and additional works at: https://scholars.unh.edu/thesis Recommended Citation Maxwell, Logan, "Drivers of introgression and fitness in the Saltmarsh-Nelson's Sparrow hybrid zone" (2018). Master's Theses and Capstones. 1217. https://scholars.unh.edu/thesis/1217 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Scholarship at University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master's Theses and Capstones by an authorized administrator of University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. DRIVERS OF INTROGRESSION AND FITNESS IN THE SALTMARSH-NELSON’S SPARROW HYBRID ZONE BY LOGAN M. MAXWELL Baccalaureate Degree (BS), University of New Hampshire, 2013 THESIS Submitted to the University of New Hampshire in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science In Natural Resources: Wildlife and Conservation Biology September, 2018 This thesis was examined and approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Natural Resources: Wildlife and Conservation Biology by: Thesis Director, Adrienne I. Kovach, Assistant Professor, Natural Resources and the Environment Brian J. Olsen, Associate Professor, School of Biology and Ecology, University of Maine Jeffery Foster, Affiliate Faculty Molecular, Cellular, and Biomedical Sciences, University of New Hampshire Jennifer Walsh, Postdoctoral Associate, Fuller Evolutionary Biology Program, Cornell Lab of Ornithology On July, 27th 2018 Approval signatures are on file with the University of New Hampshire Graduate School. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Throughout my Master’s degree, I received support from numerous individuals to whom I am extremely grateful. I was very fortunate to work with an amazing group of people who were dedicated to success of the project. First and foremost, thanks to my advisor – Dr. Adrienne Kovach, for her guidance, enthusiasm throughout the project, and for overseeing my academic development as a researcher. I am also thankful to my committee – Dr. Brian Olsen, Dr. Jeff Foster, and Dr. Jennifer Walsh, for support throughout this process. A special thanks to Jennifer Walsh for her dedicated involvement in this project, pep talks, advice, mentorship, and remote help with coding. I was fortunate to work within the Saltmarsh Habitat and Avian Research Program (SHARP) collaborative during me degree. Thanks to all the principle collaborators and graduate students for the support, advice, and insight into what successful, collaborative science looks like. Land access from Popham Beach State Park and the Town of Brunswick was crucial to the success of this project, thanks to Nate Webb and Meagan Hennessey for allowing this work to happen. Thanks also to Laura Sewall for providing housing over two field seasons. I am especially grateful for field help I received from Kris Wojtusik, Sarah Clements, Ben Flemer, and Joey Reed. Their positive attitude and dedication to good data collection made long, hot days on the marsh enjoyable and fun. I am also grateful for all the help in the lab extracting DNA and preparing RAD seq libraries I received from Kris Wojtusik, Katie Shink, as well as numerous undergraduates. I would also like to extent my gratitude to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology Ecology and Evolution lab – especially Jennifer Walsh, Bronwyn Butcher and Irby Lovette, for iii their guidance and inviting me to spend a week in their lab learning RAD seq techniques. I received a sense of community at UNH from my lab mates including Bri Benvenuti, Gemma Clucas, Melissa Bauer, Erica Holm, and Brett Ferry for which I am very grateful. I received financial support from the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (Region 5, Division of Natural Resources, National Wildlife Refuge System, Science Applications), the New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station, through a USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture McIntire-Stennis Project # 1006964, and from the Garden Club of America through the Frances M. Peacock Scholarship for Native Bird Habitat. I would like acknowledge my husband, Cooper Maxwell, and the rest of my family for their unwavering support and encouragement throughout these last three years. Finally, I am forever grateful to my late father, Mike Cline, for whom without- I would not be where I am today. He instilled and inspired an innate curiosity, appreciation, and stewardship for the natural world that continues to drive me today. An avid believer in science, conservation, and its ability to give back, he pushed me to educate myself, never lose my hunger to learn, and work towards a goal larger than myself. Dad – thanks for the many birding trips, forest walks, and for believing me in always. I could not have asked for a better role model and friend. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES ....................................................................................................................... viii LIST OF FIGURES ....................................................................................................................... xi ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................. xv INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER 1 ................................................................................................................................... 6 INFULENCE OF DEMOGRAPHY AND HABITAT ON BROAD AND FINE-SCALE VARIATION IN STRUCTURE OF THE SALTMARSH-NELSON’S SPARROW HYBRID ZONE Abstract ....................................................................................................................................... 6 Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 7 Objectives .......................................................................................................................................... 12 Predictions ......................................................................................................................................... 13 Methods ..................................................................................................................................... 14 Study Area ......................................................................................................................................... 14 Field Data Collection ....................................................................................................................... 15 ddRAD Library Preparation ............................................................................................................ 16 Bioinformatic Data Processing & SNP Detection ....................................................................... 17 Patterns of Introgression .................................................................................................................. 18 Testing Haldane’s Rule ................................................................................................................... 19 Assessing Mating Patterns .............................................................................................................. 20 Results ....................................................................................................................................... 21 Broad Scale Patterns of Introgression............................................................................................ 21 Fine Scale Patterns of Introgression .............................................................................................. 22 Testing Haldane’s Rule ................................................................................................................... 23 Assessing Mating Patterns .............................................................................................................. 24 Discussion ................................................................................................................................. 25 Exogenous Factors: Relative Species Densities and Distribution ............................................. 25 Exogenous Factors: Habitat ............................................................................................................ 27 Assortative Mating ........................................................................................................................... 29 v Endogenous Factors ......................................................................................................................... 31 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................. 32 CHAPTER 2 ................................................................................................................................. 39 FITNESS CONSEQUENCES OF HYBRIDIZATION FOR NESTING FEMALE SALTMARSH AND NELSON’S SPARROWS
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