Staffan Bensch

A songbird karyotype: cytogenetic confirmation of a migration-associated region rich in olfactory receptor genes.

The paper identifies a repeat-rich genomic region, MARB, associated with bird migration using long-read assemblies and cytogenetic techniques, revealing it spans a large chromosome and contains many olfactory receptor genes.

Migration patterns and hybridization within the Asian stonechat complex in response to a major geographical barrier

The paper investigates migration patterns and hybridization in Asian stonechats around the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, finding a migratory divide with hybridization and diverse routes.

Combined evidence reveals the origin of a rapid range expansion despite retained genetic diversity and a weak founder effect

The paper combines historical and genomic data to show a rapid range expansion of the common reed warbler without significant genetic diversity loss, suggesting high dispersal mitigates founder effects.

Putative signatures of genomic adaptation to Cuckoo brood parasitism in Reed Warbler hosts across Europe

The paper identifies genomic regions and genes associated with Reed Warbler responses to Cuckoo brood parasitism across Europe using landscape genomics methods.

Genomic sequence capture of haemosporidian parasites: Methods and prospects for enhanced study of host-parasite evolution

The paper develops a sequence capture method to obtain nuclear loci from haemosporidian parasites in wild birds, improving phylogenetic resolution over mitochondrial DNA barcoding.

Comparative analysis examining patterns of genomic differentiation across multiple episodes of population divergence in birds

The paper examines genomic differentiation patterns across eight bird sister pairs, finding correlations between differentiation metrics and genomic features like gene density, with higher repeatability in more reproductively isolated pairs.