Data from: The ability of Drosophila hybrids to locate food declines with parental divergence.

Hybrids between two species are generally less fit than the parental species, and the mechanisms underlying their fitness reductions can manifest through different traits and at different life history stages. For example, hybrids can have physiological, behavioral, or ecological defects, resulting in postzygotic isolation between their parental species. However, mechanisms of postzygotic isolation other than sterility and inviability have remained largely uninvestigated. Isolated studies have found that other postzygotic defects are not only possible but might be widespread. Here, we study a fundamental animal behavior - the ability of individuals to find food - and test the rate at which it breaks down in hybrids. We measured the ability of hybrids from 94 pairs of Drosophila species to find food and show that hybrids are generally less successful than their parental species. We then show that the ability of hybrid offspring to locate food decreases with increasing genetic divergence between the parental species. Our findings quantify the rate that hybrid dysfunction evolves across the diverse radiation of Drosophila and highlight the need for future investigations of the genetic and neurological mechanisms that affect a hybrid's ability to find a suitable substrate on which to feed and breed.两个物种间的杂种通常较其亲本物种适应性更弱，其适应性降低的潜在机制可通过不同性状、在不同生活史阶段体现。例如，杂种可能出现生理、行为或生态缺陷，进而导致亲本物种间产生合子后生殖隔离（postzygotic isolation）。然而，除不育与不可存活之外的合子后隔离机制，迄今仍未得到充分研究。已有零散研究表明，其他合子后缺陷不仅可能存在，甚至可能广泛分布。本研究聚焦一项基础的动物行为——个体的觅食能力，并检验该能力在杂种体内衰退的速率。我们检测了94对果蝇（Drosophila）物种的杂种的觅食能力，结果显示杂种的表现普遍逊于其亲本物种。进一步分析表明，杂种后代的食物定位能力随亲本物种间遗传分化程度的升高而下降。本研究量化了果蝇多样辐射类群中杂种功能障碍的演化速率，并强调未来需深入研究影响杂种寻找适宜取食与繁殖底物能力的遗传与神经机制。