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Pleistocene climatic fluctuations and divergence with gene flow drive continent-wide diversification in an African bird
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  • Bridget Ogolowa,
  • Alan Brelsford,
  • Jon Fjeldså,
  • Andrea Fulgione,
  • Louis Hadjioannou,
  • Elisa Henderson,
  • Robert Moyle,
  • Michaella Moysi,
  • Emmanuel Nwankwo,
  • Loïs Rancilhac,
  • Thomas Smith,
  • Bridgett vonHoldt,
  • Alexander Kirschel
Bridget Ogolowa
University of Cyprus
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Alan Brelsford
University of California Riverside
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Jon Fjeldså
University of Copenhagen
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Andrea Fulgione
Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research
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Louis Hadjioannou
University of Cyprus
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Elisa Henderson
University of California Riverside
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Robert Moyle
The University of Kansas
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Michaella Moysi
University of Cyprus
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Emmanuel Nwankwo
University of Cyprus
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Loïs Rancilhac
University of Cyprus
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Thomas Smith
University of California Los Angeles
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Bridgett vonHoldt
Princeton University
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Alexander Kirschel
University of Cyprus

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Abstract

Diversification mechanisms in Sub-Saharan Africa have long attracted research interest with varying support for either allopatric or parapatric models of speciation. However, studies have seldom been performed across the entire continent, a scale which could elucidate the relative importance of allopatric and parapatric models of divergence. To shed light on continental-scale patterns of African biogeography and diversification, we investigated the historical demography of a bird with a continent-wide distribution in Sub-Saharan Africa, the Yellow-rumped Tinkerbird, Pogoniulus bilineatus. We sampled populations from across the continent and using genomic data, assessed genetic diversity, structure, and differentiation, reconstructed the phylogeny, and performed alternative demographic model selection between neighbouring clade pairs. We uncovered substantial genetic structure and differentiation patterns which corroborated the phylogenetic topology. Structure was chiefly influenced by the arid corridor, a postulated biogeographical barrier in Sub-Saharan Africa. Moreover, peak genetic diversities coincided with postulated refugial areas while demographic reconstructions between genetic lineages supported allopatric models consistent with the Pleistocene Forest Refuge hypothesis. However, within lineages, divergence with gene flow was supported. Continent-wide patterns of diversification involve an integration of both allopatric and parapatric mechanisms, with a role for both periods of divergence in isolation and across ecological gradients. Furthermore, our study emphasises the importance of the arid corridor as a primary biogeographical feature across which diversification occurs, yet one that has hitherto received scant attention regarding its importance in avian diversification in Sub-Saharan Africa.
20 Sep 2024Submitted to Molecular Ecology
23 Sep 2024Submission Checks Completed
23 Sep 2024Assigned to Editor
23 Sep 2024Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
28 Sep 2024Reviewer(s) Assigned