The project is a continuation and builds up on a previous Master's thesis which investigated the biogeography and genetic structure in the New Guinean bird genus Paradisaea.
This group was considered phylogenetically uncertain, possibly due to hybridisation events that are known to occur based on morphology and limited genetic data. We have access to 351 samples (137 P. apoda, 16 P. decora, 25 P. guilielmi, 133 P. minor, 6 P. raggiana and 34 P. rubra) of which we have sequenced about 120 individuals. The available individuals from six different species give a good coverage over their natural distribution. Building up on the results of the master thesis we will continue to look into hybridising individuals and the introgression patterns within this system. With this project we can demonstrate the importance of museum collections in the genomic era to study species that would be difficult to sample, but we also aim to offer further insights into the mechanisms of speciation by studying hybridisation.