Maria Servedio

Same-sex sexual behaviour and selection for indiscriminate mating

Nature Ecology & Evolution · 2020 · 39 citations

Coupling of Barriers to Gene Exchange: Causes and Consequences

Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Biology · 2024 · 35 citations

Coupling has emerged as a concept to describe the transition from differentiated populations to newly evolved species through the strengthening of reproductive isolation. However, the term has been used in multiple ways, and relevant processes have sometimes not been clearly distinguished. Here, we synthesize existing uses of the concept of coupling and find three main perspectives: (1) coupling as the build-up of linkage disequilibrium among loci underlying barriers to gene exchange, (2) coupli…

Homage to Felsenstein 1981, or why are there so few/many species?

Evolution · 2021 · 26 citations

If there are no constraints on the process of speciation, then the number of species might be expected to match the number of available niches and this number might be indefinitely large. One possible constraint is the opportunity for allopatric divergence. In 1981, Felsenstein used a simple and elegant model to ask if there might also be genetic constraints. He showed that progress towards speciation could be described by the build-up of linkage disequilibrium among divergently selected loci an…

Inferred Attractiveness: A generalized mechanism for sexual selection that can maintain variation in traits and preferences over time

PLoS Biology · 2023-10-03 · 20 citations

Sexual selection by mate choice is a powerful force that can lead to evolutionary change, and models of why females choose particular mates are central to understanding its effects. Predominant mate choice theories assume preferences are determined solely by genetic inheritance, an assumption still lacking widespread support. Moreover, preferences often vary among individuals or populations, fail to correspond with conspicuous male traits, or change with context, patterns not predicted by domina…

The effectiveness of pseudomagic traits in promoting divergence and enhancing local adaptation*

Evolution · 2020 · 18 citations

"Magic traits," in which the same trait is both under divergent ecological selection and forms the basis of assortative mating, have been sought after due to their supposed unique ability to promote divergence with gene flow. Here, we ask how unique magic traits are, by exploring whether a tightly linked complex of a locus under divergent selection and a locus that acts as a mating cue can mimic a magic trait in its divergence. We find that these "pseudomagic traits" can be very effective in pro…