Staff

David Alexander Marques

Dr. David Alexander Marques

Department Fish Ecology & Evolution

About Me

PhD student in the group biodiversity dynamics

Research interest
Biodiversity and its origin, the speciation process, are the focus of my research interest. Although since Darwin’s “The origin of species” we know much about how species split and diverge, we have only recently started to connect speciation research and population genetics from an empirical perspecitve thanks to genome-wide data obtained with next-generation sequencing techniques.

Therefore, I am interested in the interface of evolutionary and population genomics and macroevolutionary processes, in particular in adaptive radiations. What factors in the genome are constraining or promoting speciation at different stages of the process? How does genomic architecture affect a propensity for speciation? How is variation in the genome influenced by population history or hybridization and what role does it play in speciation and in particular in adaptive radiations? And in a more holistic approach, which processes contribute to what extent to the emergence, maintenance or brake-up of separate evolutionary lineages and consequently of biodiversity?

I am using Three-spined Sticklebacks and Lake Victoria Cichlids as model systems to address these questions. Both are known for their unusually high rates of speciation in adaptive radiations. Various stages of speciation at different time scales are present among these model systems, what makes them perfectly suited to investigate the evolution of organismal diversity in adaptive radiations.

Research project

Genomics of rapid sympatric incipient speciation in threespine stickleback

Adaptive and demographic history of the Swiss stickleback adaptive radiation

From invasion to speciation - comparative genomics of adaptive radiations in cichlids and sticklebacks

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Projects

We investigate the mechanisms of speciation and adaptive radiation

Speciation and adaptive radiation

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Curriculum Vitae

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Selected publications

Genomics and the origin of species

Speciation is a fundamental evolutionary process, the knowledge of which is crucial for understanding the origins of biodiversity. Genomic approaches are an increasingly important aspect of this research field. We review current understanding of genome-wide effects of accumulating reproductive isolation and of genomic properties that influence the process of speciation. Building on this work, we identify emergent trends and gaps in our understanding, propose new approaches to more fully integrate genomics into speciation research, translate speciation theory into hypotheses that are testable using genomic tools and provide an integrative definition of the field of speciation genomics.
Seehausen, O.; Butlin, R. K.; Keller, I.; Wagner, C. E.; Boughman, J. W.; Hohenlohe, P. A.; Peichel, C. L.; Saetre, G.-P.; Bank, C.; Brännström, Å.; Brelsford, A.; Clarkson, C. S.; Eroukhmanoff, F.; Feder, J. L.; Fischer, M. C.; Foote, A. D.; Franchini, P.; Jiggins, C. D.; Jones, F. C.; Lindholm, A. K.; Lucek, K.; Maan, M. E.; Marques, D. A.; Martin, S. H.; Matthews, B.; Meier, J. I.; Möst, M.; Nachman, M. W.; Nonaka, E.; Rennison, D. J.; Schwarzer, J.; Watson, E. T.; Westram, A. M.; Widmer, A. (2014) Genomics and the origin of species, Nature Reviews Genetics, 15, 176-192, doi:10.1038/nrg3644, Institutional Repository

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Address

E-Mail: davidalexander.marques@eawag.ch
Phone: +41 58 765 6812
Fax: +41 58 765 2168
Address: Eawag
Seestrasse 79
6047 Kastanienbaum
Office: SL B19
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Research Group

Biodiversity Dynamics

Aquatic Ecology

Computational and Molecular Population Genetics

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Research Focus

Evolution, Speciation, Adaptive Radiation, Population Genomics, Bioinformatics, Next Generation Sequencing, Biodiversity

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