Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • News & Views
  • Published:

Evolutionary biology

Speciation undone

Subjects

Hybridization can cause two species to fuse into a single population. New observations suggest that two species of Darwin's finches are hybridizing on a Galapagos island, and that a third one has disappeared through interbreeding.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Relevant articles

Open Access articles citing this article.

Access options

Buy this article

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: Invasion, evolution and loss.

A–C: P. R. Grant & B. R. Grant

References

  1. Dobzhansky, T. Genetics and the Origin of Species 350 (Columbia Univ. Press, 1941).

    Google Scholar 

  2. Kleindorfer, S. et al. Am. Nat. 183, 325–341 (2014).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Lack, D. Darwin's Finches (Cambridge Univ. Press, 1947).

    Google Scholar 

  4. McKinnon, J. S. & Taylor, E. B. Nature 482, 313–314 (2012).

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  5. Grant, P. R. Ecology and Evolution of Darwin's Finches (Princeton Univ. Press, 1999).

    Google Scholar 

  6. Bowman, R. I. in Patterns of Evolution in Galapagos Organisms (eds Bowman, R. I., Berson, M. & Leviton, A. E.) 237–537 (Am. Assoc. Adv. Sci., Pacif. Div., 1983).

    Google Scholar 

  7. Grant, P. R. & Grant, B. R. 40 Years of Evolution (Princeton Univ. Press, in the press).

  8. Grant, P. R., Grant, B. R., Petren, K. & Keller, L. F. Biol. Conserv. 122, 499–503 (2005).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Causton, C. E. et al. Ann. Entomol. Soc. Am. 99, 121–143 (2006).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Seehausen, O., Takimoto, G., Roy, D. & Jokela, J. Mol. Ecol. 17, 30–44 (2008).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Vonlanthen, P. D. et al. Nature 482, 357–362 (2012).

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  12. Seehausen, O. Proc. R. Soc. B 273, 1987–1998 (2006).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Grant, P. R. & Grant, B. R. How and Why Species Multiply (Princeton Univ. Press, 2008).

    MATH  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Peter R. Grant or B. Rosemary Grant.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Grant, P., Grant, B. Speciation undone. Nature 507, 178–179 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/507178b

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/507178b

This article is cited by

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing Anthropocene

Sign up for the Nature Briefing: Anthropocene newsletter — what matters in anthropocene research, free to your inbox weekly.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing: Anthropocene