A hybrid zone is a region where genetically differentiated populations meet and produce offspring through interbreeding. Its spatial pattern reflects gene flow, dispersal and possible differences in biological fitness. A narrow transition can persist despite interbreeding; observing hybrids does not by itself show that the parental populations will merge completely.
In a Scottish contact zone between red deer and introduced sika deer, microsatellite genetic markers and the mitochondrial genome revealed introgression within populations that still formed two distinguishable genetic groups. Rare interbreeding can therefore leave a broader inherited signal than inspection of external appearance suggests.[ref]
Introgression through rare hybridization: A genetic study of a hybrid zone between red and sika deer (genus Cervus) in Argyll, Scotland by Simon J. Goodman and others. Genetics 152, pp. 355–371; microsatellite and mitochondrial evidence of introgression
Comparing multiple genetic markers helps distinguish contemporary interbreeding from ancestry accumulated across generations. Articles by others on the same topic
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