Vallejo-Marín lab

Ecology and evolution of plant reproduction and pollination

My lab studies plant diversity and evolution, with a particular emphasis on the evolution of reproductive strategies and speciation. Our overarching goal is to understand how ecological, genetic and evolutionary processes interact to generate the amazing diversity of flowering plants. To tackle this main goal, we use a combination of field and glasshouse experiments, genomics, phylogenetics, biomechanics, and theoretical models.

Our projects include:

The ecology, biomechanics, and evolution of buzz pollination
Evolution of floral form and function
Hybridisation, genome duplication, and speciation in introduced monkey flowers (Mimulus spp., Phrymaceae)

For more information, please see our external website

Group members

Research leader: Mario Vallejo-Marin

Group members: Kiley Fredericks, Lilian Rodrigues Ferreira De Melo, Lisette van Kolfschoten, Robin Von Allmen, Charlie Woodrow

Publications

Harvesting pollen with vibrations: towards an integrative understanding of the proximate and ultimate reasons for buzz pollination

Vallejo-Marin, Mario; Russell, Avery L

Part of Annals of Botany, 2024
- DOI for Harvesting pollen with vibrations: towards an integrative understanding of the proximate and ultimate reasons for buzz pollination
Bumblebees' flower preferences are associated with floral abundance and buzz frequency when buzz-pollinating co-flowering plants

Huang, Wen; Vallejo‐Marín, Mario; Inouye, David W.; Yang, Chun-Feng et al.

Part of Entomologia generalis, p. 133-141, 2024
- DOI for Bumblebees' flower preferences are associated with floral abundance and buzz frequency when buzz-pollinating co-flowering plants
Floral scent changes in response to pollen removal are rare in buzz-pollinated Solanum

Moore, C. Douglas; Farman, Dudley I.; Särkinen, Tiina; Stevenson, Philip C. et al.

Part of Planta, 2024
- DOI for Floral scent changes in response to pollen removal are rare in buzz-pollinated Solanum
- Download full text (pdf) of Floral scent changes in response to pollen removal are rare in buzz-pollinated Solanum
Biomechanical properties of non-flight vibrations produced by bees

Vallejo‐Marín, Mario; Field, David L.; Fornoni, Juan; Montesinos, Daniel et al.

Part of Journal of Experimental Biology, 2024
- DOI for Biomechanical properties of non-flight vibrations produced by bees
Describing heterostyly, pollen, and sexual organ reciprocity in Rourea chrysomalla (Connaraceae), a rare and threatened species from the Brazilian Cerrado

Paz, Joicelene Regina Lima da; Santos, Beatriz Ribeiro dos; Sá, Túlio Freitas Filgueira; Faria, Jair Eustáquio Quintino et al.

Part of Flora, p. 152483-152483, 2024
- DOI for Describing heterostyly, pollen, and sexual organ reciprocity in Rourea chrysomalla (Connaraceae), a rare and threatened species from the Brazilian Cerrado
Polyploidy‐induced floral changes lead to unexpected pollinator behavior in Arabidopsis arenosa

Schmickl, Roswitha; Vallejo‐Marín, Mario; Hojka, Jakub; Gorospe, Juan Manuel et al.

Part of Oikos, 2024
- DOI for Polyploidy‐induced floral changes lead to unexpected pollinator behavior in Arabidopsis arenosa
Establishment of polyploidy in natural populations of Mimulus guttatus

Salony, Susnata; Clo, Josselin; Vallejo‐Marín, Mario; Kolář, Filip

Part of Plant Systematics and Evolution, 2024
- DOI for Establishment of polyploidy in natural populations of Mimulus guttatus
Buzz-pollinating bees deliver thoracic vibrations to flowers through periodic biting

Woodrow, Charlie; Jafferis, Noah; Kang, Yuchen; Vallejo‐Marín, Mario

Part of Current Biology, 2024
- DOI for Buzz-pollinating bees deliver thoracic vibrations to flowers through periodic biting
Establishment of polyploidy in natural populations of Mimulus guttatus

Salony, Susnata; Clo, Josselin; Vallejo‐Marín, Mario; Kolar, Filip

Part of Plant Systematics and Evolution, 2024
- DOI for Establishment of polyploidy in natural populations of Mimulus guttatus
Trait‐dependent diversification in angiosperms: Patterns, models and data

Helmstetter, Andrew J.; Zenil‐Ferguson, Rosana; Sauquet, Hervé; Otto, Sarah P. et al.

Part of Ecology Letters, p. 640-657, 2023
- DOI for Trait‐dependent diversification in angiosperms: Patterns, models and data

Research areas

Plant Ecology and Evolution

Lab alumni

PhD Students

C. Douglas Moore Ph.D. (2023)
Lucy Nevard Ph.D. (2022)
Anna Karen Zapata Carbonell Ph.D. (2019)
Pauline Pantoja Ph.D. (2018)
Zarah Pattison Ph.D. (2016)
Lislie Solis-Montero. Ph.D. (2014)

Postdoctoral Fellows

Dr. Vanessa Marcelo (2023-2024)
Dr. Daniela Scaccabarozzi (2023)
Dr. Carlos Eduardo Pereira Nunes (2019-2022)
Dr. David Pritchard (2019-2021)
Dr. Jurene Kemp (2019-2021)
Dr. Sofie Meeus (2014-2016)
Dr. Violeta Simon-Porcar (2014-2016)

Research Technicians

Catriona Walker (2011)
Sophie Webster (2013)
Jessica Goodman (2019)

M. Sc. Students

William Smith (2014)
Gilbert Gauci (2016
Angel Olivares Espinosa (2016)
Sara Bisset (2017)
Aaron Martin (2017)
Jack Reid (2017)
Rebecca Brown (2021)
Darren Elder (2021)
Nicole Leadbetter (2022)
Sikar Aman (2022)
Karin Alexandersson-Ros (2024)
Luc Jansen (2024)

B. Sc. Honours Students

Short-Exchange Students

Eudes Jouet-Pastre (2013)
Clement Bergounhou (2013)
Bertrand Travacca (2013)
Mathieu Quenu (2015)
David Real Fernandez (2016)
Enrique Maguilla Salado (2016)
Blanca Arroyo Correa (2016, 2018)
Esther Senden (2016)
Alba Casillas (2017)
Aime Rubini Pisano (2017)
Daniele Da Re (2017)
Bernardo Garcia Simpson (2023)
Christian Ary Castro (2023)
Elodie Morell (2023)
Eloi Chauvet (2024)
Fesiha Yavuz (2024)

Short-Exchange Visiting Professors and Scholars

Lislie Solis-Montero (2024)
Vinicius Britto (2019-2020, 2021-2022)
Paul de Luca (2010)