Hybridization among the black basses Micropterus spp. occurs due to weak postzygotic reproductive barriers and anthropogenic factors, such as habitat alteration. Introduction of previously allopatric species can also result in hybrid swarms and, in some cases, extirpation of native species. Introgressive hybridization is a major conservation concern for the more range-restricted black basses, which underscores the need for accurate identification of hybrids that often have cryptic phenotypes. To that end, we collected 1,723 fish from four river systems in the Mobile River basin, Alabama, to compare phenotypic identification in the field based on morphology with genotype determined from single-nucleotide polymorphism analysis using diagnostic markers for black basses. Results indicated that phenotypic identification among these cryptic hybrids was only 11% accurate. Only 4% of the fish collected were identified as hybrids in the field, whereas genotype analysis classified 22% of the fish as hybrids. The majority of those misidentified in the field were hybrids between Alabama Bass M. henshalli and Redeye Bass M. coosae or between those species and another black bass species. Hybrid individuals composed 5–38% of the total number of fish collected from the four river systems, but 28–68% were misidentified in each river system. These results underscore the need for genetic tools to augment classic field surveys of the black basses, as cryptic hybridization may lead to errant management decisions based on inaccurate species distribution assessments.

中文翻译：

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表型标记无法准确识别阿拉巴马州莫比尔河流域的黑鲈种和相关杂种

黑鲈 Micropterus之间的杂交属 由于较弱的合子后生殖障碍和人为因素，例如栖息地改变，而发生。以前的异域物种的引入也可能导致杂交群体，在某些情况下，还会导致本地物种的灭绝。渐进杂交是范围更受限制的黑鲈的主要保护问题，这强调需要准确识别通常具有神秘表型的杂交种。为此，我们从阿拉巴马州莫比尔河流域的四个河流系统中收集了 1,723 条鱼，以比较基于形态学的现场表型鉴定与使用黑鲈诊断标记通过单核苷酸多态性分析确定的基因型。结果表明，这些神秘杂种之间的表型鉴定准确率仅为 11%。在田间采集的鱼中，只有 4% 被鉴定为杂种，而基因型分析将 22% 的鱼归类为杂种。大多数在该领域被错误识别的人是阿拉巴马州低音之间的杂交M. henshalli和 Redeye Bass M. coosae或介于这些物种和另一个黑鲈物种之间。杂交个体占从四个河流系统收集的鱼类总数的 5-38%，但在每个河流系统中错误识别了 28-68%。这些结果强调需要遗传工具来增加黑鲈的经典实地调查，因为神秘的杂交可能会导致基于不准确的物种分布评估的错误管理决策。