Small islands and large biogeographic barriers have driven contrasting speciation patterns in Indo-Pacific sunbirds (Aves: Nectariniidae)

Birds of the Indo-Pacific have provided biologists with many foundationalinsights. This study presents evidence for strong phylogeographic structure in two sunbird species from the heart of this region, the olive-backed sunbird, Cinnyris jugularis, and the black sunbird, Leptocoma aspasia. We assessed population divergence using morphological, plumage, bioacoustic and molecular data (mitochondrial ND2/ND3). Our findings indicate that the olive-backed sunbird should be recognized as multiple species, because birds from Sulawesi and the Sahul Shelf are closely related to each other, but widely separated from those in other regions. In addition, we provide evidence for an endemic species on the Wakatobi Islands, an archipelago of deep-sea islands off south-east Sulawesi. That a small bird could exhibit a range all the way from Sulawesi to Australia, while diverging on a small archipelago within this range, illustrates the complex interplay between dispersal and speciation. Our black sunbird genetic data also suggest unrecognized population structure, despite relatively weak plumage divergence. Black sunbirds in Sulawesi are likely to be a separate species from those in New Guinea, with a mean genetic distance of 9.1%. Current taxonomy suggests these sunbird species transcend classic biogeographic barriers, but our results suggest that these barriers are not easily bypassed.

Automated summary

Birds of the Indo-Pacific region have provided important insights for biologists. This study focuses on two sunbird species, the olive-backed sunbird and the black sunbird, and reveals a strong phylogeographic structure. The olive-backed sunbird should be recognized as multiple species due to genetic divergence between different regions. The black sunbird also shows unrecognized population structure despite weak plumage divergence.