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Abstract We synthesize observations from 1979 to 2016 of a contact zone involving two subspecies of pocket gophers (Thomomys bottae connectensandT. b. opulentus) and their respective chewing lice (Geomydoecus aureiandG. centralis) along the Río Grande Valley in New Mexico, U.S.A., to test predictions about the dynamics of the zone. Historically, the natural flood cycle of the Rio Grande prevented contact between the two subspecies of pocket gophers. Flood control measures completed in the 1930s permitted contact, thus establishing the hybrid zone between the pocket gophers and the contact zone between their lice (without hybridization). Since that time, the pocket gopher hybrid zone has stabilized, whereas the northern chewing louse species has replaced the southern louse species at a consistent rate of ~150 m/year. The 0.2–0.8 width of the replacement zone has remained constant, reflecting the constant rate of chewing louse species turnover on a single gopher and within a local pocket gopher population. In contrast, the full width of the replacement zone (northernmostG. centralisto southernmostG. aurei) has increased annually. By employing a variety of metrics of the species replacement zone, we are better able to understand the dynamics of interactions between and among the chewing lice and their pocket gopher hosts. This research provides an opportunity to observe active species replacement and resulting distributional shifts in a parasitic organism in its natural setting. 

Abstract Understanding the genetic consequences of changes in species distributions has wide‐ranging implications for predicting future outcomes of climate change, for protecting threatened or endangered populations and for understanding the history that has led to current genetic patterns within species. Herein, we examine the genetic consequences of range expansion over a 25‐year period in a parasite (Geomydoecus aurei) that is in the process of expanding its geographic range via invasion of a novel host. By sampling the genetics of 1,935G. aureilice taken from 64 host individuals collected over this time period using 12 microsatellite markers, we test hypotheses concerning linear spatial expansion, genetic recovery time and allele surfing. We find evidence of decreasing allelic richness (AR) with increasing distance from the source population, supporting a linear, stepping stone model of spatial expansion that emphasizes the effects of repeated bottleneck events during colonization. We provide evidence of post‐bottleneck genetic recovery, with average AR of infrapopulations increasing about 30% over the 225‐generation span of time observed directly in this study. Our estimates of recovery rate suggest, however, that recovery has plateaued and that this population may not reach genetic diversity levels of the source population without further immigration from the source population. Finally, we employ a grid‐based sampling scheme in the region of ongoing population expansion and provide empirical evidence for the power of allele surfing to impart genetic structure on a population, even under conditions of selective neutrality and in a place that lacks strong barriers to gene flow.