Abstract
Theoretical and empirical studies of reinforcement have advanced our understanding of speciation, yet its role in polymorphic species remains understudied. Because morphs differ in behavior, morphology, and reproductive strategies, reinforcement may act unevenly among them, generating asymmetric reproductive isolation. We tested this prediction in the polymorphic damselflies Ischnura elegans and Ischnura graellsii, in which female morphs adopt alternative reproductive strategies. These species form two independent hybrid zones where reinforcement has strengthened mechanical isolation and driven reproductive character displacement in mating-related structures. We quantified five reproductive barriers across female morphs to evaluate how color polymorphism interacts with reinforcement. We found clear asymmetry between morphs: gynochrome females of both species showed reinforced mechanical isolation, whereas androchromes did not, consistent with their contrasting reproductive strategies. Additionally, gametic barriers evolved in opposite directions between species. Fertility isolation was reinforced in I. elegans, while oviposition and fertility barriers relaxed in I. graellsii, but symmetrically between female morphs, likely reflecting gene flow and purging of incompatibilities. Reinforcement strengthened reproductive isolation in a morph-specific manner, as pre-existing differences between female morphs influenced the likelihood of heterospecific mating and therefore the strength of selection against hybridization. Future work should examine whether these asymmetric dynamics generate cascading effects within species and contribute to morph-level diversification.
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Data availability
All datasets and scripts used in this manuscript were uploaded to OSF at: https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/EQBCA.
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Acknowledgements
We are very grateful to Guillaume Lavanchy and an anonymous reviewer for their insightful comments, which greatly improved the quality of our manuscript. We thank the Zalandrana Odonatology Group for their support with sampling and permitting in north-central Spain; Janet Nolasco Soto and Jovita Martínez Lapa for technical assistance; Samantha Maíte de los Santos Gómez for help with map preparation; and Roger Guevara for statistical advice. This work was funded by Mexican CONACyT (282922 to RAS-G). JEO-M received a PhD fellowship from SECIHTI (966157). LRA-V was supported by a Horizon Postdoctoral Fellowship from Concordia University. ACR was supported by grant PGC2018-096656-B-I00 from the Spanish Ministry of Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033) and the European Regional Development Fund. This research constitutes part of JEO-M’s doctoral thesis at the Instituto de Ecología, AC.
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Conceptualization: JEO-M and RAS-G, Data curation: JEO-M, ALJ-J, MS-P, LRA-V, AVB-G, OB, NR, JRC-R and RAS-G, Formal analysis: JEO-M, LRA-V, and RAS-G, Visualization: JEO-M and RAS-G, Writing-original draft: JEO-M and RAS-G, Writing—review and editing: all the authors, Funding acquisition: AC-R and RAS-G.
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Ordaz-Morales, J.E., Juárez-Jiménez, A.L., Stand-Pérez, M. et al. Alternative reproductive strategies explain asymmetries in reproductive isolation and reinforcement in two Ischnura damselfly species.
Heredity (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41437-026-00837-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41437-026-00837-6
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