Digest: The Role Of Linkage In Mimicking "Magic Traits"

Can divergence in a mating trait increase local adaption by increasing ecological divergence? Servedio and Burger propose that "pseudomagic traits," tightly linked complexes consisting of an ecological locus under divergent selection and a locus acting as a mating cue, can effectively mimic pleiotropy. Such pseudomagic traits can form even when linkage between ecological and mating loci is limited.