Data for: Plio-Pleistocene climatic fluctuations and divergence with gene flow drive continent-wide diversification in an African bird

This dataset contains the data used in Ogolowa et al (2025). The study assessed the genetic structure and demographic history of the Yellow-rumped Tinkerbird, Pogoniulus bilineatus species complex. It found substantial genetic structuring across the range of the species with an earliest split that coincides with the arid corridor. Thus highlighting the arid corridor as an important biogeographical feature in avian diversification in Sub-Saharan Africa. The data includes raw fastq files generated via double-digest restriction-site associated DNA sequencing (ddRADseq) from DNA samples of 183 individuals. The samples were collected across the geographic range of P. bilineatus, with representative samples from all seven currently recognized subspecies. It also contains the metadata of each sample that indicates the sample location, collection date, and coordinate information.

Methods
The source of genetic materials included muscle tissue from museum samples and blood samples from fieldwork (2015 -2017) using mist nets and conspecific playbacks (Kirschel et al., 2009; Nwankwo et al*., 2018; Kirschel et al., 2020a). Genomic DNA was extracted from 183 samples using a DNeasy Blood and Tissue kit following the manufacturer’s protocol (Qiagen, USA). Genomic libraries were generated for double-digest restriction-site associated DNA sequencing (ddRADseq) following Brelsford et al. (2016). DNA was digested with SbfI and MseI restriction enzymes, to which SbfI-barcoded unique adapters (4bp-8bp in size) were ligated to each sample to allow downstream equimolar pooling of all samples. Sequencing was done at 2x150nt sequencing in an Illumina HiSeq X Ten platform by Novogene Inc. (Sacramento, CA, USA).