Travis J. Hagey

• PhD
• Faculty Member at Mississippi University for Women

Phenotypic change plays diverse roles in species’ colonization, but most invasion studies target single species. To compare ecomorphological changes among co-invading species with overlapping niches, we examined three lizards on the island of O‘ahu (Anolis carolinensis, A. sagrei, Phelsuma laticauda). Using specimens from three decades of unfolding...

Introduction Similar traits appearing in distantly related organisms have intrigued scientists for generations. While anole lizards of the Caribbean are often touted as a classic example of repeated evolution, the adhesive toe pads of gecko lizards are an equally striking yet underappreciated example of relatedly evolved traits. The strikingly dive...

Synopsis Evidence suggests that hurricanes can influence the evolution of organisms, with phenotypic traits involved in adhesion, such as the toepads of arboreal lizards, being particularly susceptible to natural selection imposed by hurricanes. To investigate this idea, we quantified trait variation before and after Hurricanes Irma and Maria (2017...

Introduction Avian preen oil, secreted by the uropygial gland, is an important source of volatile compounds that convey information about the sender’s identity and quality, making preen oil useful for the recognition and assessment of potential mates and rivals. Although intrinsic factors such as hormone levels, genetic background, and diet can aff...

Urbanization, despite its destructive effects on natural habitats, offers species an opportunity to colonize novel niches. Previous research found that urban Anolis lizards in Puerto Rico had increased adhesive toepad area and more ventral toepad scales, traits that are likely adaptive and genetically based. We further investigated these phenotypic...

Phenotypic change plays diverse and crucial roles in biotic invasion, but most studies of invasions focus on individual species. To compare ecomorphological changes among co-invading species with overlapping native niches, we examined three lizards on the island of O‘ahu: ( Anolis carolinensis, A. sagrei , Phelsuma laticauda ). Using specimens from...

Human activity drastically transforms landscapes, generating novel habitats to which species must adaptively respond. Consequently, urbanization is increasingly recognized as a driver of phenotypic change. The structural environment of urban habitats presents a replicated natural experiment to examine trait-environment relationships and phenotypic...

Ecomorphology links microhabitat and morphology. By comparing ecomorphological associations across clades, we can investigate the extent to which evolution can produce similar solutions in response to similar challenges. While Anolis lizards represent a well-studied example of repeated convergent evolution, very few studies have investigated the ec...

Absolute limb length vs perch diameter. Using a phylogenetic generalized least squares approach, we considered the relationship between absolute hind limb length and perch diameter, both natural log transformed, for our observed Queensland geckos and Caribbean anoles. Note that both plots have the same axes. While we found no significant relationsh...

Perch height vs perch diameter. Using a phylogenetic generalized least squares approach, we compared the relationship between perch height and perch diameter, both natural log transformed, of the perches we observed geckos using in Queensland. With an estimated λ of 0.0, we observed a near significant relationship (p = 0.07), suggesting that the hi...

Species means. Over the course of this study, we collected two datasets, a microhabitat dataset and a morphological data. Our anole data were compiled with the assistance of J. Losos [13, 54]. We collected gecko habitat use measurements from Queensland, Australia. 95% confidence intervals are shown in parentheses. Microhabitat column header abbrevi...

Collected specimens deposited in the Queensland Museum. We submitted 50 wild caught lizard specimens to the Queensland Museum. Please note that species names may have been changed to follow the museum’s current species designations. (XLSX)

Understanding macroevolutionary dynamics of trait evolution is an important endeavor in evolutionary biology. Ecological opportunity can liberate a trait as it diversifies through trait space, while genetic and selective constraints can limit diversification. While many studies have examined the dynamics of morphological traits, diverse morphologic...

Understanding how organisms adapt requires linking performance and microhabitat. However, measuring performance, especially maximum performance, can sometimes be difficult. Here we describe an improvement over previous techniques of only considering the largest observed values as maxima. Instead, we model expected performance observations via the W...

Microhabitat use is an important aspect of an organism's niche, often influencing both intra- and interspecific interactions such as competition. To reduce competitive interactions, species may shift their behavior when in sympatry to gain greater access to resources, resulting in patterns of habitat partitioning. Previous studies have described st...

Biomechanical models of the gecko adhesive system typically focus on setal mechanics from a single gecko species, Gekko gecko. In this study, we compared the predictions from three mathematical models with experimental observations considering an additional gecko species Phelsuma grandis, to quantify interspecific variation in setal micromechanics....

Ecological opportunity--through entry into a new environment, the origin of a key innovation or extinction of antagonists--is widely thought to link ecological population dynamics to evolutionary diversification. The population-level processes arising from ecological opportunity are well documented under the concept of ecological release. However,...

We quantified the foraging behavior of the Jackson's chameleon (Chamaeleo jacksonii xantholophus), an invasive insectivorous lizard species in Hawai'i. Using video taken in the field, we focused on percent time moving, moves per minute, and movement speeds. Our results supported previous findings that chameleons are “cruise foragers” (sensu Butler,...