Dr Carmela Serio
School of Biological and Environmental Sciences
Faculty of Science
Email: C.Serio@2019.ljmu.ac.uk
I am currently a PhD student at Liverpool John Moores University under the supervision of Dr Carlo Meloro, Prof. Richard Brown, and Prof. Marcus Clauss (University of Zurich).
I graduated in Natural Sciences at the University of Naples Federico II. During my academic career, I contributed to the development of novel methodologies to investigate spatial and temporal patterns in vertebrate evolution. My PhD project entitled “Pattern of coevolution in carnivores and ungulates during the Cenozoic” focuses on the evolution of locomotor and feeding adaptation in living and fossil terrestrial large mammals. My aim is to investigate if change in limbs morphology and feeding apparatus could be described as pattern of coevolution between predators and prey.
Thesis/Dissertation
Serio C. 2023. Patterns of coevolution in carnivores and ungulates during Cenozoic Meloro C, Brown R, Clauss M. Public Url
Journal article
Mondanaro A, Di Febbraro M, Castiglione S, Melchionna M, Serio C, Girardi G, Belfiore AM, Raia P. 2023. ENphylo: A new method to model the distribution of extremely rare species Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 14 :911-922 DOI Publisher Url Public Url
Sansalone G, Profico A, Wroe S, Allen K, Ledogar J, Ledogar S, Mitchell DR, Mondanaro A, Melchionna M, Castiglione S, Serio C, Raia P. 2023. Homo sapiens and Neanderthals share high cerebral cortex integration into adulthood Nature Ecology and Evolution, 7 :42-50 DOI Author Url Publisher Url Public Url
Castiglione S, Mondanaro A, Di Febbraro M, Melchionna M, Serio C, Girardi G, Belfiore AM, Raia P. 2022. Testing for changes in rate of evolution and position of the climatic niche of clades Mammal Review, 52 :573-583 DOI Publisher Url Public Url
Castiglione S, Serio C, Mondanaro A, Melchionna M, Raia P, Sansom R. 2022. Fast production of large, time-calibrated, informal supertrees with tree.merger PALAEONTOLOGY, 65 DOI Author Url Publisher Url
Melchionna M, Profico A, Castiglione S, Serio C, Mondanaro A, Modafferi M, Tamagnini D, Maiorano L, Raia P, Witmer LM, Wroe S, Sansalone G. 2021. A method for mapping morphological convergence on three-dimensional digital models: the case of the mammalian sabre-tooth Palaeontology, 64 :573-584 DOI Author Url Publisher Url Public Url
Castiglione S, Serio C, Piccolo M, Mondanaro A, Melchionna M, Di Febbraro M, Sansalone G, Wroe S, Raia P. 2021. The influence of domestication, insularity and sociality on the tempo and mode of brain size evolution in mammals BIOLOGICAL JOURNAL OF THE LINNEAN SOCIETY, 132 :221-231 DOI Author Url Publisher Url
Mondanaro A, Melchionna M, Di Febbraro M, Castiglione S, Holden PB, Edwards NR, Carotenuto F, Maiorano L, Modafferi M, Serio C, Diniz-Filho JAF, Rangel T, Rook L, O'Higgins P, Spikins P, Profico A, Raia P. 2020. A Major Change in Rate of Climate Niche Envelope Evolution during Hominid History iScience, 23 DOI Author Url Publisher Url Public Url
Raia P, Mondanaro A, Melchionna M, Di Febbraro M, Diniz-Filho JAF, Rangel TF, Holden PB, Carotenuto F, Edwards NR, Lima-Ribeiro MS, Profico A, Maiorano L, Castiglione S, Serio C, Rook L. 2020. Past Extinctions of Homo Species Coincided with Increased Vulnerability to Climatic Change ONE EARTH, 3 :480-490 DOI Author Url Publisher Url
Melchionna M, Profico A, Castiglione S, Sansalone G, Serio C, Mondanaro A, Di Febbraro M, Rook L, Pandolfi L, Di Vincenzo F, Manzi G, Raia P. 2020. From Smart Apes to Human Brain Boxes. A Uniquely Derived Brain Shape in Late Hominins Clade FRONTIERS IN EARTH SCIENCE, 8 DOI Author Url Publisher Url
Sansalone G, Allen K, Ledogar JA, Ledogar S, Mitchell DR, Profico A, Castiglione S, Melchionna M, Serio C, Mondanaro A, Raia P, Wroe S. 2020. Variation in the strength of allometry drives rates of evolution in primate brain shape PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES, 287 DOI Author Url Publisher Url
Carotenuto F, Di Febbraro M, Mondanaro A, Castiglione S, Serio C, Melchionna M, Rook L, Raia P. 2020. MInOSSE: A new method to reconstruct geographic ranges of fossil species METHODS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION, 11 :1121-1132 DOI Author Url Publisher Url
Cirilli O, Melchionna M, Serio C, Bernor RL, Bukhsianidze M, Lordkipanidze D, Rook L, Profico A, Raia P. 2020. Target Deformation of theEquus stenonisHolotype Skull: A Virtual Reconstruction FRONTIERS IN EARTH SCIENCE, 8 DOI Author Url Publisher Url
Castiglione S, Serio C, Mondanaro A, Melchionna M, Carotenuto F, Di Febbraro M, Profico A, Tamagnini D, Raia P. 2020. Ancestral State Estimation with Phylogenetic Ridge Regression EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY, 47 :220-232 DOI Author Url Publisher Url
Serio C, Raia P, Meloro C. 2020. Locomotory Adaptations in 3D Humerus Geometry of Xenarthra: Testing for Convergence Houssaye A. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 8 DOI Author Url Publisher Url Public Url
Melchionna M, Mondanaro A, Serio C, Castiglione S, Di Febbraro M, Rook L, Diniz-Filho JAF, Manzi G, Profico A, Sansalone G, Raia P. 2020. Macroevolutionary trends of brain mass in Primates BIOLOGICAL JOURNAL OF THE LINNEAN SOCIETY, 129 :14-25 DOI Author Url Publisher Url
Castiglione S, Serio C, Tamagnini D, Melchionna M, Mondanaro A, Di Febbraro M, Profico A, Piras P, Barattolo F, Raia P. 2019. A new, fast method to search for morphological convergence with shape data PLOS ONE, 14 DOI Author Url Publisher Url
Silvestro D, Castiglione S, Mondanaro A, Serio C, Melchionna M, Piras P, Di Febbraro M, Carotenuto F, Rook L, Raia P. 2019. A 450 million years long latitudinal gradient in age-dependent extinction Ecology Letters, DOI Author Url Publisher Url Public Url
Ruggiero ET, Serio C, Raia P. 2019. ON THE VALIDITY OF TEREBRATULA SINUOSA (BROCCHI) RIVISTA ITALIANA DI PALEONTOLOGIA E STRATIGRAFIA, 125 :631-636 Author Url
Serio C, Castiglione S, Tesone G, Piccolo M, Melchionna M, Mondanaro A, Di Febbraro M, Raia P. 2019. Macroevolution of Toothed Whales Exceptional Relative Brain Size EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY, 46 :332-342 DOI Author Url Publisher Url
Mondanaro A, Di Febbraro M, Melchionna M, Carotenuto F, Castiglione S, Serio C, Danisi S, Rook L, Diniz-Filho JAF, Raia P. 2019. Additive effects of climate change and human hunting explain population decline and extinction in cave bears BOREAS, 48 :605-615 DOI Author Url Publisher Url
Saborit G, Mondanaro A, Melchionna M, Serio C, Carotenuto F, Tavani S, Modafferi M, Panarello A, Mietto P, Raia P, Casinos A. 2019. A dynamic analysis of Middle Pleistocene human walking gait adjustment and control ITALIAN JOURNAL OF GEOSCIENCES, 138 :231-238 DOI Author Url Publisher Url
Castiglione S, Serio C, Mondanaro A, Di Febbraro M, Profico A, Girardi G, Raia P. 2019. Simultaneous detection of macroevolutionary patterns in phenotypic means and rate of change with and within phylogenetic trees including extinct species PLOS ONE, 14 DOI Author Url Publisher Url
Dipineto L, Raia P, Varriale L, Borrelli L, Botta V, Serio C, Capasso M, Rinaldi L. 2018. Bacteria and parasites in Podarcis sicula and P-sicula klemmerii BMC VETERINARY RESEARCH, 14 DOI Author Url Publisher Url
Carotenuto F, Di Febbraro M, Melchionna M, Mondanaro A, Castiglione S, Serio C, Rook L, Loy A, Lima-Ribeiro MS, Diniz-Filho JAF, Raia P. 2018. The well-behaved killer: Late Pleistocene humans in Eurasia were significantly associated with living megafauna only PALAEOGEOGRAPHY PALAEOCLIMATOLOGY PALAEOECOLOGY, 500 :24-32 DOI Author Url Publisher Url
Raia P, Boggioni M, Carotenuto F, Castiglione S, Di Febbraro M, Di Vincenzo F, Melchionna M, Mondanaro A, Papini A, Profico A, Serio C, Veneziano A, Vero V, Rook L, Meloro C, Manzi G. 2018. Unexpectedly rapid evolution of mandibular shape in hominins Scientific Reports, 8 DOI Author Url Publisher Url Public Url
Piras P, Silvestro D, Carotenuto F, Castiglione S, Kotsakis A, Maiorino L, Melchionna M, Mondanaro A, Sansalone G, Serio C, Vero VA, Raia P. 2018. Evolution of the sabertooth mandible: A deadly ecomorphological specialization PALAEOGEOGRAPHY PALAEOCLIMATOLOGY PALAEOECOLOGY, 496 :166-174 DOI Author Url Publisher Url
Melchionna M, Di Febbraro M, Carotenuto F, Rook L, Mondanaro A, Castiglione S, Serio C, Vero VA, Tesone G, Piccolo M, Felizola Diniz-Filho JA, Raia P. 2018. Fragmentation of Neanderthals' pre-extinction distribution by climate change PALAEOGEOGRAPHY PALAEOCLIMATOLOGY PALAEOECOLOGY, 496 :146-154 DOI Author Url Publisher Url
Castiglione S, Tesone G, Piccolo M, Melchionna M, Mondanaro A, Serio C, Di Febbraro M, Raia P. 2018. A new method for testing evolutionary rate variation and shifts in phenotypic evolution METHODS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION, 9 :974-983 DOI Author Url Publisher Url
Bubadué J, Polidoro G, Melo G, Sponchiado J, Serio C, Melchionna M, Mondanaro A, Castiglione S, Meloro C, Raia P, Cáceres N, Carotenuto F. 2018. Rensch’s and Bergmann’s Rules in Cis-Andean South-American Howler Monkeys (Mammalia: Alouatta) Hystrix : the Italian Journal of Mammalogy, DOI Author Url Publisher Url Public Url
Castiglione S, Mondanaro A, Melchionna M, Serio C, Di Febbraro M, Carotenuto F, Raia P. 2017. Diversification Rates and the Evolution of Species Range Size Frequency Distribution FRONTIERS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION, 5 DOI Author Url Publisher Url
Mondanaro A, Castiglione S, Melchionna M, Di Febbraro M, Vitagliano G, Serio C, Vero VA, Carotenuto F, Raia P. 2017. Living with the elephant in the room: Top-down control in Eurasian large mammal diversity over the last 22 million years PALAEOGEOGRAPHY PALAEOCLIMATOLOGY PALAEOECOLOGY, 485 :956-962 DOI Author Url Publisher Url
Raia P, Ferranti L, Castiglione S, Melchionna M, Saggese F, Raimondi R, Serio C, Carotenuto F, Passaro F, Antonioli F. 2017. Predicted sea-level changes and evolutionary estimates for age of isolation in Central Mediterranean insular lizards HOLOCENE, 27 :418-426 DOI Author Url Publisher Url
Carotenuto F, Di Febbraro M, Melchionna M, Castiglione S, Saggese F, Serio C, Mondanaro A, Passaro F, Loy A, Raia P. 2016. The influence of climate on species distribution over time and space during the late Quaternary QUATERNARY SCIENCE REVIEWS, 149 :188-199 DOI Author Url Publisher Url
Raia P, Carotenuto F, Mondanaro A, Castiglione S, Passaro F, Saggese F, Melchionna M, Serio C, Alessio L, Silvestro D, Fortelius M. 2016. Progress to extinction: increased specialisation causes the demise of animal clades SCIENTIFIC REPORTS, 6 DOI Author Url Publisher Url
Other
Castiglione S, Serio C, Tamagnini D, Melchionna M, Mondanaro A, Di Febbraro M, Profico A, Piras P, Barattolo F, Raia P. 2021. Erratum: A new, fast method to search for morphological convergence with shape data (PLoS ONE (2019) 16:5 (E0252264) DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0226949) PLoS ONE, 16 DOI Author Url Publisher Url