India, Dec. 4 -- European colonization has accelerated animal hybridization by moving species beyond their native ranges, leading to increased genetic diversity.

A study on Australian dingoes reveals that hybridization with European dogs has evolutionary benefits, enhancing genetic diversity and disease resistance.

This challenges the notion of species purity and suggests a focus on maintaining diverse populations for conservation.

Humans have moved plants and animals well beyond their native ranges, across barriers that normally prevent dispersal. As a result, people have increased the rates of hybridisation between populations that were once isolated for thousands, or even millions, of years.

Animal hybrids are a controversial issue...