Behavioural and Molecular Ecology. Even though I'm really a molecular systematist, I have a long-standing interest in this area of research and so I sometimes dress up as a behavioural ecologist. We mostly work on mate choice, mating systems, social structure and anti-predator behaviour in both the field and the lab. We also develop and use polymorphic microsatellites to do paternity testing. My main study animal is the southern water skink, Eulamprus heatwolei, but my students and postdocs have worked on a number of different species of lizards and also a frog and a fish. Our lizard room and lizard yard are heavily used for this work. There are lots of ways I could have divided this up, but it's easiest to list things by people and animals.....

Current and ongoing projects:

Behavioural and molecular ecology of the southern water skink, Eulamprus heatwolei

Good old Eulamprus heatwolei is the species that I work on and it is also the species that I generally use for honours projects because they are big, viviparous, and love Pal dog food. For our field work we use a very dense population in the nearby Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve, although the recent Canberra fires have taken their toll. We also do a lot of behavioural work in the lab on this species. Most of our recent work has been on female choice and other aspects of the mating system. There are several more papers to come and lots and lots more projects to do!

Head, ML, P Doughty, SP Blomberg, JS Keogh. 2008. Chemical mediation of reciprocal mother-offspring recognition in the southern water skink, Eulamprus heatwolei. Austral Ecology 33:20-28.

Hodges, K, DM Rowell, JS Keogh. 2007. Remarkably different phylogeographic structure in two closely related lizard species in a zone of sympatry in south eastern Australia. Journal of Zoology, London. 272:64-72.

Head, ML, JS Keogh, P Doughty. 2005. Male southern water skinks (Eulamprus heatwolei) use both visual and chemical cues to detect female sexual receptivity. ActaEthologica 8:79-85.

Stapley, J, JS Keogh. 2005. Behavioural syndromes influence mating systems: Floater pairs of a lizard have heavier offspring. Behavioural Ecology 16:514-520.

Stapley, J, JS Keogh. 2004. Exploratory and anti-predator behaviours differ between territorial and non-territorial male lizards. Animal Behaviour 68:841-846. PDF.

Morrison, SF, JS Keogh, IAW Scott. 2002. Molecular determination of paternity in a natural population of the multiply mating polygynous lizard Eulamprus heatwolei. Molecular Ecology 11:535-546. PDF

Head, M, JS Keogh, P Doughty. 2002. Experimental evidence of an ontogenetic shift in chemically mediated predator avoidance in the southern water skink, Eulamprus heatwolei. Journal of Chemical Ecology 28:541-554. PDF

Scott, IAW, C Hayes, JS Keogh, SF Morrison. 2001. Isolation and characterization of novel microsatellite markers from the Australian water skink Eulamprus kosciuskoi and cross species amplification in other members of the species-group. Molecular Ecology Notes 1:28-30. PDF

Evolution of sequential polyandry in the brown toadlet, Pseudophryne bibronii

Phil Byrne is doing his ARC Postdoc on the evolution of multiple mating in females. The notion that polyandry has evolved as an adaptive female strategy remains highly controversial because empirical work lags far behind theoretical advances. Phil is empirically testing current hypotheses for the evolution of polyandry using the Australian frog Pseudophryne bibroni as a model species. Aspects of the reproductive biology of this species make it ideal for critically testing diverse hypotheses that can not be easily tested in groups with internal fertilisation or with simultaneous polyandry. Understanding why females mate with multiple males will have extreme implications for sexual selection and mating system theory. Phil has completed one field season so far and is now gearing up to genotype many hundreds of tads. In his spare time, Phil writes up Drosophila experimental work he did in Bill Rice's lab as a postdoc.

Byrne, PG, JS Keogh. 2009. Extreme sequential polyandry insures against nest failure in a frog. Proceedings of the Royal Society, Series B. 276:115-120. Click here to check out some of the media coverage.

Byrne, PG. 2008. Strategic male calling effort in terrestrial toadlets (Pseudophryne bibronii). Copeia 2008:57-63.

Byrne, P, JS Keogh. 2007. Terrestrial toadlets use chemosignals to recognise conspecifics, locate mates and strategically adjust calling behaviour. Animal Behaviour 74:1155-1162.

Behavioural ecology of the African flat lizard, Platysaurus broadleyi

I am collaborating with Martin Whiting from the University of Witwatersrand in South Africa on several projects involving the world's most spectacular lizard that is flat as a pancake. Martin is a lizard behavioural ecologist and I have spent two field seasons with him on the Orange River in the Kalahari Desert working on this species. In particular, we have done field experimental work (In collaboration with Jonno Webb) looking at the role chemical vs. visual communication plays in male courtship, among other things. Martin and I also have published a molecular phylogeny of the genus Platysaurus and we are planning field work in Mozambique, Malawi and Tanzania to obtain the remainng taxa. The longer-term goal is to develop a very robust phylogeny of all taxa that we can use to test hypotheses concerning the evolution of colour and signalling in this group. We have long term plans to open up a field base in the Kalahari called "The PITS" (The Platysaurus Institute of Technology) to facilitate the research. So far, we only have the name sorted out. Jessica Stapley, one of my former PhD students, is now a Postdoctoral Fellow in Martin's lab also working on this species. This photo is Martin Whiting's and displays the colour polymorphism in males of a related species. For more photos and details on what Martin is up to with these lizards, see his research interests page.

Whiting, MJ, JK Webb, JS Keogh. Flat lizard female mimics use sexual deception in visual but not chemical signals. Proceedings of the Royal Society, Series B. IN PRESS. Click here to check out some of the media coverage.

Scott, IAW, JS Keogh, MJ Whiting. 2004. Shifting sands and shifty lizards: Molecular phylogeny and biogeography of African flat lizards (Platysaurus). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 31:618-629. PDF.

Projects that are now largely wrapped up:

Molecular and behavioural ecology of White's skink, Egernia whitii

David Chapple did part of his PhD research on the social structure and mating system of White's skink. This involved very detailed field work where all animals in a population in Namadgi National Park were marked, observed and genotyped over two seasons. David also did lots of phylogenetic and phylogeography work for his PhD which is listed below but also detailed on our Molecular Phylogeny research page. There are still several more papers to come from Dave's work. For more details see Dave's web site.

Chapple, DG, MN Hutchinson, B Maryan, M Plivelich, JA Moore, JS Keogh. 2008. Evolution and maintenance of colour pattern polymorphism in Liopholis (Squamata: Scincidae). Australian Journal of Zoology 56:103-115. IMPORTANT NOTICE - "Tassie" Dave Chapple is the winner of the exceedingly competitive 100th Lab Paper Competition! A lavish black-tie cocktail party will be held to celebrate - embarrassing photos from the party will be posted in due course.

Chapple, DG, JS Keogh. Chapple, DG, JS Keogh. 2006. Group structure and stability in social aggregations of White's skink, Egernia whitii. Ethology 112: 247-257.

Chapple, D.G., A.J. Stow, D. O'Connor S. Fuller and MG Gardner. Cross-species amplification of DNA microsatellite loci in an Australian lineage of social lizards (Scincidae, genus Egernia). Herpetological Review 37:177-180.

Chapple, DG. 2005. Life-history and reproductive ecology of White's Skink, Egernia whitii. Australian Journal of Zoology 53:353-360.

Chapple, DG, JS Keogh. 2005. Complex mating system and dispersal patterns in a social lizard, Egernia whitii. Molecular Ecology 14:1215-1227.

Chapple, DG, JS Keogh, MN Hutchinson. 2005. Substantial genetic substructuring in southeastern and alpine Australia revealed by molecular phylogeography of the Egernia whitii (Lacertilia: Scincidae) species group. Molecular Ecology 14:1279-1292.

Chapple, DG, JS Keogh, MN Hutchinson. 2004. Molecular phylogeography and systematics of the arid-zone members of the Egernia whitii (Lacertilia: Scincidae) species group. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 33:549-561. PDF.

Chapple, DG, JS Keogh. 2004. Parallel adaptive radiations in arid and temperate Australia: molecular phylogeography and systematics of the Egernia whitii (Lacertilia: Scincidae) species group. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 83:157-173. PDF.

Chapple, DG. 2003. Ecology, life history and behavior in the Australian scincid lizard Egernia with comments on the evolution of complex sociality in lizards. Herpetological Monographs 17:145-180. PDF.

Signalling structure in the tawny dragon, Ctenophorus decresii

Louise Osborne did her PhD research on aspects of signalling structure in male tawny dragons, Ctenophorus decresii, from the Flinders Ranges in South Australia. All of this work involved detailed experimental trials here at ANU where she focussed on male motivation, contest success, informtion transfer and rival recognition.

Osborne, L. 2005. Information content of male agonistic displays in the territorial tawny dragon (Ctenophorus decresii). Journal of Ethology 23:189-197.

Osborne, L. 2005. Rival recognition in the territorial tawny dragon lizard (Ctenophorus decresii). Acta Ethologica 15:45-50.

Anti-predator behaviour and mating system of the mountain log skink, Pseudemoia entrecasteauxii

Jessica Stapley did her PhD work on various aspects of the mating system and anti-predator behaviour in the mountain log skink from nearby Namadgi National Park. Jess did some very exciting work on behavioural syndromes and how these syndromes might influence the evolution of alternative mating strategies. Jess developed and used microsatellites for paternity testing and she also worked on the mating system of Eulamprus heatwolei for part of her PhD (her Eulamrpus work is listed above). There are still several more papers to come! For more details see Jess' web site.

Stapley, J. 2008. Female mountain log skinks are more likely to mate with males that court more, not males that are dominant. Animal Behaviour 75:529-538.

Stapley, J, JS Keogh. 2006. Body size and badge colour interact to influence male reproductive success in a non-territorial lizard. Ethology, Ecology and Evolution 18:275-288.

Stapley, J. 2006. Individual variation in preferred body temperature covaries with social behaviours and colour in male lizards. Journal of Thermal Biology 31:362-369.

Stapley, J. 2004. Do mountain log skinks (Pseudemoia entrecasteauxii) modify their behaviour in the presence of two predators? Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 56:185-189. PDF.

Stapley, J, C Hayes, JS Keogh. 2003. Population genetic differentiation and multiple paternity determined by novel microsatellite markers from the Australian mountain log skink (Pseudemoia entrecasteauxii). Molecular Ecology Notes 3:291-293. PDF.

Stapley, J. 2003. Differential avoidance of snake odours by a lizard: evidence for prioritised avoidance based on risk. Ethology 109:785-796. PDF.

Behavioural ecology of geckos and garden skinks

Sharon Downes worked on a whole bunch of cool behavioural ecology projects while doing her ARC Postdoc. This included work on a variety of aspects of how group size influences vigilance and also phenotypic plasticity in the common garden skink, Lampropholis guichinoti. Sharon and I also co-supervised the honours project of Junko Kondo who worked on several aspects of retreat site sharing in the velvent gecko, Oedura lesueurii, and the masters projects of Anke Maria Hoefer who studied the mating system and chemical communication in Lampropholis guichinoti. There are still several more papers to come!

Kondo, J, SJ Downes, JS Keogh. 2007. Recent physical encounters affect chemically mediated retreat-site selection in a gecko. Ethology 113:68-75.

Kondo, J, SJ Downes. 2007. Does social behaviour reliably reflect temperature-dependent physiological capacity in geckos? Animal Behaviour 74:873-88

Downes, S, AM Hoefer. 2007. An experimental study of the effects of weed invasion on lizard phenotypes. Oecologia 153:775-785.

Bilcke J, S. Downes S, I Büscher I. 2006. The combined effect of incubation and ambient temperature on the feeding performance of a small ectotherm. Oecologica. In Press.

Downes SJ, AM Hoefer. 2004. Vigilance in lizards: interations between group size and predation risk. Animal Behaviour 67:485-492. PDF.

Mulder R, T Jones, SJ Downes. 2002. Frontiers in sexual selection. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 17:107-108.

Male mate choice, male competition and mating system of the Pacific blue-eye fish, Pseudomugil signifer

Bob Wong did his PhD work (co-supervised my Mike Jennions) on a variety of topics to do with the mating system of the Pacific blue-eye fish. In particular Bob focussed on male mate choice and male competition and he did some very exciting experimental work on mate recognition and costs of mate choice. For more details, see Bob's web site.

Kokko H, Wong BBM. 2007. What determines sex roles in mate searching? Evolution 61: 1162-1175.

Wong, BBM, U Candolin. 2005. How is female mate choice affected by male competition? Biological Reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society 80:1-13.

Wong, BBM. 2004. Competition is disruptive to courtship in the Pacific blue eye fish. Journal of Fish Biology 65:333-341. PDF.

Wong, BMB, MD Jennions, JS Keogh. 2004. Sequential male mate choice in a fish, the Pacific blue-eye Pseudomugil siginifer. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 56:253-256. PDF.

Wong, BMB, JS Keogh, MD Jennions. 2004. Mate recognition in a freshwater fish: geographic distance, genetic differentiation, and variation in female preference for local over foreign males. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 17:701-708. PDF.

Wong, BBM. 2004. Superior fighters make mediocre fathers in the pacific blue eye fish. Animal Behaviour 67:583-590. PDF.

Wong, BMB, JS Keogh, DJ McGlashan. 2004. Current and historical patterns of drainage connectivity in eastern Australia inferred from population genetic structuring in a widespread freshwater fish Pseudomugil signifer (Pseudomugilidae). Molecular Ecology 13:391-401. PDF.

Wong, BBM, MD Jennions. 2003. Costs influence male mate choice in a freshwater fish. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Series B (Suppl. Biology Letters) 270, S36-S38. PDF.

In his spare time, Bob also did some high-profile work on sexual deception by orchids and their wasp pollinators.

Wong, BBM, Salzmann, C, Schiestl, FP. 2004. Pollinator attractiveness increases with distance from flowering orchids. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B (Supp), Biology Letters 271, S212-S214. PDF.

Wong, BBM, Schiestl, FP. 2002. How an orchid harms its pollinator. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B. 269:1529-32. Bob was interviewed about this work by SCIENCE MAGAZINE, in their "Science Now" section, and also by ABC SCIENCE ONLINE

Microsat develpment - we use microsats for both mating system stuff and population genetics

Morgan, MJ, PG Byrne, C Hayes, JS Keogh. Microsatellite markers in the endangered Australian northern corroboree frog, Pseudophryne pengilleyi (Anura: Myobatrachidae) and amplification in other Pseudophryne species. Conservation Genetics. In Press.

Chapple, D.G., A.J. Stow, D. O'Connor S. Fuller and MG Gardner. 2006. Cross-species amplification of DNA microsatellite loci in an Australian lineage of social lizards (Scincidae, genus Egernia). Herpetological Review 37:177-180.

Stapley, J, C Hayes, JK Webb, JS Keogh. 2005. Novel microsatellite loci identified from the Australian Eastern Small-Eyed Snake (Elapidae: Rhinocephalus nigrescens) and cross species amplification in the related genus Suta. Molecular Ecology Notes 5:54-56.

Stapley, J, C Hayes, JS Keogh. 2003. Population genetic differentiation and multiple paternity determined by novel microsatellite markers from the Australian mountain log skink (Pseudemoia entrecasteauxii). Molecular Ecology Notes 3:291-293. PDF.

Scott IAW, C Hayes, JS Keogh, JK Webb. 2001. Isolation and characterization of novel microsatellite markers from the Australian tiger snakes (Elapidae: Notechis) and amplification in the closely related genus Hoplocephalus. Molecular Ecology Notes 1:117-120. PDF

Scott, IAW, C Hayes, JS Keogh, SF Morrison. 2001. Isolation and characterization of novel microsatellite markers from the Australian water skink Eulamprus kosciuskoi and cross species amplification in other members of the species-group. Molecular Ecology Notes 1:28-30. PDF

Other stuff

Kondo, J, SJ Downes. 2004. Using Visible implant elastomer to individually mark geckos. Herpetofauna 34:19-22.

Hoefer AM, BA Goodman, SJ Downes. 2003. Two cheap, effective, non-invasive methods for restraining living lizard species. Herpetological Review 34:223-224.

Doughty, P, DN Reznick. 2004. Patterns and analysis of adaptive phenotypic plasticity in animals. In: Phenotypic Plasticity: Functional and Conceptual Approaches, edited by T. J. DeWitt and S. M. Scheiner. Oxford Univeristy Press. pp126-150.

Keogh, JS, FP DeSerto. 1994. Temperature dependent defensive behavior of three species of North American colubrid snakes. Journal of Herpetology 28:259-263.