Pleistocene land bridges act as semipermeable agents of avian gene flow in Wallacea

Pleistocene changes in land distribution have had a major impact on biodiversity buildup. In this study, we used genome-wide DNA markers in two Wallacean bird species to test for Pleistocene connectivity between two islands that have been repeatedly connected through Pleistocene land bridges. Our result indicate higher levels of differentiation, an approximately two to four times deeper divergence time and near-zero levels of gene flow between the two island populations of the more forest-dependent henna-tailed jungle-flycatcher as compared to the more generalist golden whistler.