Hybridization fluctuates with rainfall in Darwin's tree finches

Hybridization in natural populations may be an adaptive response to shifting climatic regimes, but understanding this can be limited by temporal sampling effort and confident hybrid identification. On the Galapagos Islands, Darwin’s finches regularly hybridize, and the islands show extreme annual variation in rainfall, however the effect of annual rainfall on the frequency of finch hybridization is little known. Across a 19-year period on Floreana Island, we compare patterns of hybridization in sympatric Darwin’s tree finches (N = 425; Camaryhnchus spp.) and test for an effect of annual rainfall on, 1) the frequency of hybrids (C. pauper × C. parvulus), and 2) the percentage of male hybrid birds produced per year (hybrid recruitment). Annual rainfall correlated with recruitment positively for hybrids, negatively for C. parvulus and not at all for C. pauper. Furthermore, the percentage of hybrids (range: 12-56%) and C. parvulus did not change with sampling year, but the critically endang...