The ecological importance of hybridization.

Progress in genome screening technologies is improving our understanding of how hybridization contributes to the tree of life. Beyond the formation of new gene combinations and species, hybridization can promote biological novelty by triggering or reshaping the whole range of ecological interactions. With the increasing realization that hybridization is widespread in nature, and that human-driven environmental changes will boost its frequency of occurrence, the time is ripe for pinning down the ecological roles of hybridization. Hybridization as an evolutionary process has been studied in depth over the past few decades. Research has focused on its role in shaping reproductive barriers, its adaptive value, and its genomic consequences. In contrast, our knowledge of ecological dimensions of hybridization is still in its infancy, despite hybridization being an inherently ecological interaction. Using examples from various organisms, we show that hybridization can affect and be affected by non-reproductive interactions, including predation, competition, parasitism, mutualism, commensalism, and organism–environment interactions, with significant implications for community structure and ecosystem functioning. However, since these dimensions of hybridization have mostly been revealed from studies designed to decipher other evolutionary processes, we argue that much of the eco-evolutionary importance of hybridization is yet to be discovered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]