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Her paper, titled "Parasitism of Plant and Animal Hybrids: Are Facts and Fates the Same?" demonstrates how hybrids impact the population dynamics of parasite species and how these parasites in turn could impact the evolution of hybridizing species.

Robert Fritz from Vassar College investigates the environmental and genetic factors that lead to plant hybrid fitness.

"Genetic composition is an important factor in determining fitness, as hybrids have the capacity to develop either enhanced or decreased fitness," says Fritz. However, environmental conditions and interactions of hybrids in different environments are equally important.

Fritz proposes a new theoretical model that he calls the "ecological resistance gradient model." The model supports his studies of environmental effects on hybrid fitness.

Other advances, such as those in molecular technology, are allowing researchers to better classify and study hybrid lifestyles. The application of these techniques will enable them to monitor genetic stocks of rare species that are potentially threatened by hybrid invasion. This and other evolutionary concerns will be addressed as ecologists begin to better understand the roles hybrids play in ecosystems.

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Contact: Alison Gillespie
alison@esa.org
202-416-6181
Ecological Society of America
12-Mar-1999