Climate cycling did not affect haplotype distribution in an abundant Southern African avian habitat generalist species, the familiar chat (Oenanthe familiaris).

Avian species diversity in Southern Africa is remarkably high, yet the mechanisms responsible for that diversity are poorly understood. While this is particularly true with respect to species endemic to the subregion, it is unclear as to how more broadly distributed African species may have colonized southern Africa. One process that may in part account for the high bird species diversity in southern Africa is a "species pump" model, wherein the region was repeatedly colonized by lineages from areas further north: a pattern related to climate cycling and the eastern African arid corridor.

Island songbirds as windows into evolution in small populations.

Due to their limited ranges and inherent isolation, island species have long been recognized as crucial systems for tackling a range of evolutionary questions, including in the early study of speciation. Such species have been less studied in the understanding of the evolutionary forces driving DNA sequence evolution. Island species usually have lower census population sizes (N) than continental species and, supposedly, lower effective population sizes (Ne).