Hybridization due to changing species distributions: adding problems or solutions to conservation of biodiversity during global change?

Background: Due to increasing global change, the rate of hybridization appears to be increasing. Question: Is hybridization adding problems or solutions to the effects of global change on biodiversity? Methods: We divided ourselves into two independent groups. Each group listed topics it thought appropriate. We then compared and combined the lists, extracting a natural structure of the topics. We next divided ourselves into three specialized subgroups and discussed the topics in more depth. In a final plenary meeting, we brought ideas together, discussed open topics, identified consensus or differences of opinion, and prepared a preliminary report. Results: Our lists of topics were highly similar, suggesting that we missed only a few topics. We agreed that it is important to consider hybridization in both its genetic and ecological context and with explicit attention paid to phylogenetic and biogeographic history. It is also necessary to distinguish between underlying processes and resulting consequences. Knowledge of the consequences of hybridization is more developed in genetics than in ecology. We suggest that hybridization adds problems (loss of biodiversity, ecosystem degradation) as well as solutions (new adaptive variation, ecosystem robustness) to global change challenges. Which Correspondence: P. Edelaar, Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemical Engineering, University Pablo de Olavide, Carretera Utrera km. 1, 41013 Seville, Spain. e-mail: [email protected] Consult the copyright statement on the inside front cover for non-commercial copying policies. Evolutionary Ecology Research, 2014, 16: 475–491