Skip to content
DraconiticResearch
Search Sources API
194,161 studies31 sourcesUpdated 6 min ago
Peer-reviewedCC BY 4.0Ecology and Evolution

Is It a “Hybrid Swarm”? Opportunities for More Informative Terminology in Conservation Genomics

  • Jillian N. Campbell1,2
  • Elizabeth G. Mandeville1,3
  • Nathan C. Lewis1,4
  • Amanda V. Meuser1,5,6,7
7 affiliations
  1. 1Department of Integrative Biology University of Guelph Guelph Canada
  2. 2Department of Biodiversity Monitoring State Museum of Natural History Stuttgart Stuttgart Germany
  3. 3Department of Biology Northern Michigan University Marquette Michigan USA
  4. 4Department of Zoology University of British Columbia Vancouver Canada
  5. 5Department of Biology York University Toronto Canada
  6. 6Department of Zoology Stockholm University Stockholm Sweden
  7. 7Centre for Palaeogenetics Stockholm University Stockholm Sweden
Read full textPDFDOICite

Abstract

Hybridization is common in wild taxa, which may cause conservation concerns if hybridization occurs following disturbance or species introductions. High throughput DNA sequencing makes genomic analysis of many individuals feasible, vastly improving and promoting more studies on hybridization. However, more precise genomic identification of hybrids has not always extended to more precise use of terminology to describe hybrid ancestry. For hybridizing species of conservation concern, it is critical to understand hybridization dynamics precisely in order to effectively manage imperiled taxa. We conducted a review of 67 representative journal articles that use the term “hybrid swarm” in reference to hybridization, as variation in the usage of the term makes it difficult to understand which biological processes are being described. We found that “hybrid swarm” is used in several contexts across studies using various methods and numbers of genetic markers, reflecting vastly different statistical power and degrees of evidence for extensive hybridization. We encourage researchers working with genomic datasets to use clearer terminology when describing hybridization outcomes. We elaborate on scenario‐specific terminology to strengthen uniformity in hybridization language, which we hope will promote more precise descriptions of hybridization and improve the clarity of future research on hybridization.

Related

  1. Population Genomics of North Carolina's Black Bears (Ursus americanus) Reveals Substructure and Identifies Informative SNPs for Population Assignment and Individualization.
    Isabella G Livingston, Allison N Dickey, Megan N Dillon +6
    GenesPeer-reviewedCC BYFull textGenetics & genomicsEurope PMC
  2. From mountaintops to metacollections: using genomics to evaluate ex situ conservation collections. A case study from tropical montane cloud forest plants in Australia
    M. Cascini, L. Simpson, S. Worboys +7
    bioRxivPreprintCC BY-NCFull textGenetics & genomicsbioRxiv
  3. Endemic but not eroded: Genomic distinctiveness and conservation genomics of the British swallowtail butterfly ( Papilio machaon britannicus )
    Benoit Nabholz, Eliette Reboud, Bérénice Lafon +4
    Insect conservation and diversityPeer-reviewedCC BY-NC-SA 4.0Full text1 citedEcologyGenetics & genomicsHAL
  4. Comparative population genomics reveals evolutionary potential and conservation priorities in three Procapra species.
    Haoyang Wang, Xiaofan Ma, Xin Huang +8
    Molecular biology and evolutionPeer-reviewedCC BYFull textGenetics & genomicsEurope PMC
  5. Comparative Genomics of COBRA-like Genes in Theobroma and Herrania Reveals Structural Conservation and Lineage-Specific Variation
    R. P. Oliveira, J. V. d. A. Almeida, V. Trinca +3
    bioRxivPreprintCC BYFull textBioinformatics & computational biologybioRxiv

Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{campbell2026hybrid,
  title = {{Is It a “Hybrid Swarm”? Opportunities for More Informative Terminology in Conservation Genomics}},
  author = {Jillian N. Campbell and Elizabeth G. Mandeville and Nathan C. Lewis and Amanda V. Meuser},
  journal = {Ecology and Evolution},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.1002/ece3.74515},
  url = {https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ece3.74515},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Is It a “Hybrid Swarm”? Opportunities for More Informative Terminology in Conservation Genomics
AU  - Jillian N. Campbell
AU  - Elizabeth G. Mandeville
AU  - Nathan C. Lewis
AU  - Amanda V. Meuser
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/24
JO  - Ecology and Evolution
DO  - 10.1002/ece3.74515
UR  - https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ece3.74515
AB  - Hybridization is common in wild taxa, which may cause conservation concerns if hybridization occurs following disturbance or species introductions. High throughput DNA sequencing makes genomic analysis of many individuals feasible, vastly improving and promoting more studies on hybridization. However, more precise genomic identification of hybrids has not always extended to more precise use of terminology to describe hybrid ancestry. For hybridizing species of conservation concern, it is critical to understand hybridization dynamics precisely in order to effectively manage imperiled taxa. We conducted a review of 67 representative journal articles that use the term “hybrid swarm” in reference to hybridization, as variation in the usage of the term makes it difficult to understand which biological processes are being described. We found that “hybrid swarm” is used in several contexts across studies using various methods and numbers of genetic markers, reflecting vastly different statistical power and degrees of evidence for extensive hybridization. We encourage researchers working with genomic datasets to use clearer terminology when describing hybridization outcomes. We elaborate on scenario‐specific terminology to strengthen uniformity in hybridization language, which we hope will promote more precise descriptions of hybridization and improve the clarity of future research on hybridization.
SN  - 2045-7758
SN  - 2045-7758
ER  -