Canid hybridization

Canid hybridization is interbreeding between distinct canid species or populations. Its offspring may be fertile and can transmit genes across population boundaries.

Introgression: The movement of genetic variants between populations through hybridization and repeated backcrossing. It describes how hybridization can leave lasting genetic traces beyond first-generation offspring.
Coywolf: A wild canid population with substantial coyote and eastern wolf ancestry, especially in eastern North America. It exemplifies extensive interbreeding among canids in a changing landscape.
Canidae: The mammal family that includes dogs, wolves, foxes, and other dog-like carnivores. Hybridization occurs among members of this family, though compatibility differs across lineages.
Genetic rescue: The improvement of a small or inbred population through gene flow from another population. Crosses can increase genetic diversity, though benefits depend on the populations involved.
Canid phylogeny: The evolutionary relationships among living and extinct members of the dog family. Past gene flow can make branching histories difficult to infer from genomes.
Reproductive isolation: Biological barriers that reduce or prevent gene flow between populations or species. Its strength determines how readily distinct canids can hybridize.
Wolfdog: A domestic dog–wolf hybrid produced by mating a dog with a gray wolf. It is a familiar cross between a wild canid and its domesticated relative.
Gray wolf: A large wild canid distributed across much of the Northern Hemisphere. It is a frequent participant in natural and human-associated canid crosses.
Outbreeding depression: Reduced fitness in offspring when divergent populations are crossed and locally adapted gene combinations are disrupted. It is a potential cost of introducing genes through canid hybridization.
Hybrid speciation: The formation of a distinct species through hybridization between ancestral lineages. Whether some canid lineages arose this way remains a question about hybrid ancestry.

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