Quantitative Research Synthesis Essay

Our results found that populations 1 and 2 had similar means for tail shaft color, throat color, and malar stripe (see Table 1); however, the standard deviation for tail color between population 1 and population 2 greatly differs from the ones found in throat color and malar stripe. For the two populations (populations 3 and 4) on the edge within the hybrid zone, the mean greatly differ for all three traits with an average drop of 1.83 between the two populations for each of the three traits measured (see Table 1). This drop can also be seen in Graphs 1-4 below. As we approached the location of the hybrid zone and within it, the standard deviation of the three traits increased substantially. Populations 5 and 6 were similar to populations 1 …show more content…
This can be ascertained from the graphs shown in Graphs 1-4. These graphs display a steep slope within the hybrid zone range (Graphs 1-4) and an intersecting point in which all the traits categorized nearly overlap among the populations (Graph 4). Therefore, these graphs verified our hypothesis stated in this paper because the steep slope shows secondary contact and the interesting point tell us that there is gene flow within the hybrid zone, keys for a secondary hybrid zone. In addition, the steep on the graph, stated in the results, between populations 3, and 4 signifies the disfavor for dispersal and two species are hybridizing. There is no evidence to suggest the northern flickers undergo positive assortative mating due to the mixed traits found within the hybrid zone. Likewise, Moore (1987) found that these traits might signal aggression within the Northern Flicker instead mating signals, supporting our findings. Thus, northern flickers do not have any or very low intrinsic barriers and do not have a preferred mate choice. Additionally, we predict based off this lack of assortative mating that the two populations will lose much of their genetic distinction overtime within the hybrid