Genetic evidence for a recent divergence and subsequent gene flow between Spanish and Eastern imperial eagles

Background  

Dating of population divergence is critical in understanding speciation and in evaluating the evolutionary significance of genetic lineages, upon which identification of conservation and management units should be based. In this study we used a multilocus approach and the Isolation-Migration model based on coalescence theory to estimate the time of divergence of the Spanish and Eastern imperial eagle sister species. This model enables estimation of population sizes at split, and inference of gene flow after divergence.