A hybrid zone exists where the ranges of two interbreeding species meet. For a hybrid zone to be stable, the offspring produced by the cross (the hybrids) have to be less fit than members of the parent species. Hybrid zones and gene flow do not inevitably lead to the recombination of the two populations involved, but can instead continue for thousands of years. The predominant explanation for this is that the hybrid zone represents a ‘tension zone' between the conflicting effects of dispersal of parental forms and selection against hybrids.
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