Least Nighthawk Chordeiles pusillus (Aves: Caprimulgidae) speciation
The Least Nighthawk is widespread in open and low vegetation in the South American tropics, in different domains, including the Cerrado, Caatinga, and isolated white-sand savannas in Amazonia. We investigate genetic relationships between populations of the Least Nighthawk to understand historical processes leading to its diversification and to determine dispersal routes between northern and southern savannas by way of three hypothetical dispersal corridors, by comparing samples from amazonian white-sand savannas to samples from other savannas on the periphery of the Amazon rainforest.