# Recent Divergence and Microgeographic Genetic Structure in an Endangered Australian Songbird: The Southern Black‐Throated Finch

## TL;DR

This study examines the genetic structure and history of an endangered Australian songbird, finding recent divergence and human-caused barriers to gene flow.

## Contribution

The study reveals microgeographic genetic structure in the endangered black-throated finch linked to recent human-induced habitat changes.

## Key findings

- The two subspecies of black-throated finch are genetically distinct and separated by the Einasleigh Uplands.
- The endangered cincta subspecies has two genetically distinct populations that last exchanged genes ~3000 years ago.
- Human-made barriers like the Ross River Dam have caused genetic differentiation between populations <20 km apart.

## Abstract

Anthropogenic habitat loss and climate change threaten global biodiversity. Effective conservation management is greatly benefited by a detailed understanding of geographic structure, genetic diversity, and demography of threatened species. The black‐throated finch,
Poephila cincta
, is an Australian songbird with two subspecies: atropygialis and cincta. The southern subspecies, cincta, has experienced an ~80% range contraction over the last century and is listed as endangered, but genetic surveys of it are incomplete. Here, we use a combination of reduced representation and whole genome sequencing to examine genetic differentiation, spatial genetic structure, and demographic history in both subspecies of this species. We find that atropygialis and cincta are geographically isolated by a biogeographic barrier known as the Einasleigh Uplands and genetically distinct despite a history of divergence with gene flow. Since they last shared a common ancestor ~360,000 years ago, the two subspecies have experienced distinct demographic trajectories over the last ~100,000 years, characterized by population expansion in atropygialis and population decline in cincta. We find that the two remnant population centers of cincta, from the Galilee Basin and the Townsville Coastal Plain, each represent genetically distinct lineages that last shared appreciable levels of gene flow ~3000 years ago. Moreover, we report striking microgeographic genetic structure from the Townsville Coastal Plain between populations < 20 km apart associated with barriers to dispersal caused by anthropogenic habitat modification over the last 50 years: namely, the construction of the Ross River Dam. Our findings highlight the urgent need for a conservation approach that prioritizes habitat restoration to re‐establish population connectivity in the endangered southern black‐throated finch.

The endangered southern black‐throated finch
Poephila cincta cincta
has experienced an ~80% range contraction over the last century, and ongoing habitat loss increases the risk of its extinction. Using reduced representation and whole genome sequencing, we examine the divergence history of northern and southern black‐throated finches and find evidence of fine‐scale genetic structure between populations of this endangered finch < 20 km apart in one remaining stronghold. Barriers to gene flow appear to be associated with anthropogenic habitat modification and hence support habitat restoration as a conservation priority.