I am an evolutionary biologist reconstructing species and population dynamics through time. I do so by integrating data and methods from different fields: ecology, population genetics, archaeology and palaeoclimatology.
Biography
Born in Rome, I studied prehistoric archaeology in Ferrara (northern Italy). Fascinated by paleobiology, I decided to look at the past from a biological point of view.
During my career, I worked in Paris (Musée de l'Homme), Mainz (Johannes Gutenberg University), London (UCL), and the University of Copenhagen. Since 2018 I am a post-doc within the Evolutionary Ecology Group.
Research
Currently, I work on the Leverhulme-funded project "Neanderthal Palaeoecology: the whens, hows, and whys of a species’ journey". The first outcome of this project is pastclim, an R package to easily access and use palaeoclimatic data.
In my career, I have been working on a wide range of research questions focussing on both animals and humans. Here are a few projects I have carried out in recent years:
- Reconstruct ecological niche dynamics through time using archaeological occurrences (paper about horses, paper about ungulates)
- Species distribution modelling through time using modern occurrences (paper on birds, preprint on the yellow warbler)
- How climate and migrations impacted human genetic diversity through time (commentary on migraine, paper on Neolithic diffusion, preprint on Out of Africa, paper on Palaeolithic demography)
- Ancient DNA analysis (review about ancient DNA, paper about horses, paper about genetic continuity in Tuscany)
Keywords
Palaeoecology, Evolutionary ecology, Species Distribution Modelling, ancient DNA.
Publications
Key publications:
Preprints
- S. Leedham, J.L.A. Paijmans, A. Manica, M. Leonardi (2023) Niche conservatism in a generalist felid: low differentiation of the climatic niche among subspecies of the leopard (Panthera pardus). bioRxiv 2023.01.26.525491
Articles in peer-reviewed journals
- M. Leonardi, E.Y. Hallett, R. Beyer, M. Krapp, A. Manica (2023) pastclim 1.2: an R package to easily access and use paleoclimatic reconstructions. Ecography, early access. Package website; Examples
- M. Leonardi, F. Boschin, P. Boscato, A. Manica (2022) Following the niche: the differential impact of the Last Glacial Maximum on four European ungulates. Communications Biology, 5: 1038. Data and code.
- E. F. Miller, R. E. Green, A. Balmford, R. Beyer, M. Somveille, M. Leonardi, W. Amos, A. Manica (2021) Bayesian Skyline Plots disagree with range size changes based on Species Distribution Models for Holarctic birds. Molecular Ecology. 30 (16), 3993-4004. pdf
- A. Viganò, A. Manica, V. Di Piero, M. Leonardi (2019) Did going North give us migraine? An evolutionary approach on understanding latitudinal differences in migraine epidemiology. Headache 59(4) download
- M. Leonardi, A. Sandionigi, A. Conzato, S. Vai, M. Lari, S. Ghirotto, F. Tassi, D. Caramelli, G. Barbujani. The female ancestor’s tale: long-term matrilineal continuity in a non-isolated region of Tuscany. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 167(3):497-506.
- M. Leonardi, F. Boschin, K. Giampoudakis, R. M. Beyer, M. Krapp, R. Bendrey, R. Sommer, P. Boscato, A. Manica, D. Noguez-Bravo, L. Orlando (2018). Late Quaternary horses in Eurasia in the face of climate and vegetation change. Science Advances 4(7), eaar5589, download.
- M. Leonardi, G. Barbujani, A. Manica (2017) An earlier revolution: genetic and genomic analyses reveal pre-existing cultural differences leading to Neolithization. Scientific Reports 7(1): 3525 download.
- M. Leonardi, P. Librado, C. Der Sarkissian, M. Schubert, A. H. Alfarhan, S. A. Alquraishi, K. A. S. Al-Rasheid, C. Gamba, E. Willerslev, L. Orlando (2017) Evolutionary Patterns and Processes: Lessons from Ancient DNA. Systematic Biology, 66 (1), e1-e29 download.
- M. Leonardi, P. Gerbault, M.G. Thomas, J. Burger (2012) The evolution of lactase persistence in Europe. A synthesis of archaeological and genetic evidence. International Dairy Journal, 22(2): 88-97 download (paywall).
Other publications:
Preprints
- P. Maisano Delser, M. Krapp, R. Beyer, E. Jones, E. F. Miller, A. Hovhannisyan, M. Parker, V. Siska, M. T. Vizzari, E. J. Pearmain, I. Imaz-Rosshandler, M. Leonardi, G. L. Somma, J. Hodgson, E. Tysall, Z. Xue, L. Cassidy, D. G. Bradley, A. Eriksson, A. Manica (2021 and submitted) Climate and mountains shaped human ancestral genetic lineages. bioRxiv 2021.07.13.452067,
- E. F. Miller, M. Leonardi, R. Beyer, M. Krapp, M. Somveille, G. L. Somma, P. Maisano Delser, A. Manica (2021 and submitted) Post-glacial expansion dynamics, not refugial isolation, shaped the genetic structure of a migratory bird, the Yellow Warbler (Setophaga petechia). bioRxiv 2021.05.10.443405
Articles in peer-reviewed journals
- L. Betti, R. Beyer, E. R. Jones, A. Eriksson, F. Tassi, V. Siska, M. Leonardi, P. Maisano-Delser, L.K. Bentley, P.R. Nigst, J. Stock, R. Pinhasi, A. Manica. (2020) Climate shaped how Neolithic farmers and European hunter-gatherers interacted during a major slowdown from 6,100 BCE to 4,500 BCE Nature Human Behaviour 4, 1004–1010 read-only access
- A. Fages, K. Hanghøj, N. Khan, C. Gaunitz, A. Seguin-Orlando, M. Leonardi, [116 authors], L. Orlando (2019) Tracking five millennia of horse management with extensive ancient genome time-series. Cell 177, 1–17 download
- P. Librado, A. Fages, C. Gaunitz, M. Leonardi, S. Wagner, N. Kahn, K. Hanghøj, S. Al Quraishi, A. Alfarhan, K. Al Rasheid, C. Der Sarkissian, M. Schubert, L. Orlando (2016). The evolutionary origin and genetic makeup of domestic horses, Genetics 204(2) download.
- E. Heyer, J.-T. Brandenburg, M.Leonardi, B. Toupance, P. Balaresque, T. Hegay, A. Aldashev, F. Austerlitz (2015) Patrilineal populations show more male transmission of reproductive success than cognatic populations in Central Asia, which reduces their genetic diversity. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 157(4):537-43 download (paywall).
Book chapters
- M. Leonardi, G. Barbujani, A. Manica (2021) Genetic demography: what does it mean and how to interpret it, with a case study on the Neolithic transition. In: H. Reyes-Centeno, K. Harvati, G. Jaeger (eds) Ancient connections in Eurasia, Kerns Verlag, Tuebingen. Link
- P. Gerbault*, M. Leonardi*, A. Powell, C. Weber, N. Benecke, J. Burger, M.G. Thomas (2012) Domestication and migrations: using mitochondrial DNA to infer domestication processes of goats and horses. In: Kaiser E, Schier W, Burger J (eds), Population dynamics in Prehistory and Early History. New Approaches by Stable Isotopes and Genetics, DE GRUYTER 17-29. link *those authors contributed equally to the work
- M. Leonardi, (2011) The history inside us, in F. Feulner et al. “May contain traces of milk. Investigating the role of dairy farming and milk consumption in the European Neolithic”, University of York. link
- M. Leonardi, (2011) Die weiße revolution der Jungsteinzeit, in J. Reinhard (ed.): “Milch! Nahrung - Mythos - Politikum”, Jexhof Bauernhof Museum, Fürstenfeldbruck. link
Other Professional Activities
In my career, I always tried to keep the contact with the public. Among others activities (full list here):
- I created an educational board game for school children based on my research;
- I gave talks for several Science festivals in Italy and UK;
- I did outreach with school children both in Italy and UK;
- I collaborated to the outreach activities of the Museum of Zoology of Cambridge;
- I have written a chapter of a popular science book and collaborated on an exhibition catalogue
- I have co-founded an association of Italian researchers in Cambridge and co-organised the outreach activities;
- I volunteered for outreach events in Cambridge (Twilight Festival, Science festival, Pint of Science).
