Publications

For the most up to date list of publications see my Google Scholar page

2017

Young, V. K H. 2017. Humeral loads during swimming and walking in turtles: implications for morphological change during aquatic reinvasions. Journal of Experimental Biology 220:3873-3877. Available HERE

Mayerl, C.J. and Blob, R.W. 2017. A novel, bounding gain in swimming turtles: implications for aquatic locomotor evolution. Journal of Experimental Biology, 220, 3611-3615. Available HERE

Mayerl, C.J., Pruett, J.E., Summerlin, M.N., Rivera, A.R.V., and Blob, R.W. 2017. Hindlimb muscle function in turtles: is novel skeletal design correlated with novel muscle function? Journal of Experimental Biology, 220: 2554-2562. Available HERE

Moody, K.N, Kawano, S.M, Bridges, W.C., Blob, R.W., Schoenfuss, H.L., Ptacek, M.B. 2017. Contrasting post-settlement selection results in many-to-one mapping of high performance phenotypes in the Hawaiian waterfall-climbing goby Sicyopterus stimpsoni. Evolutionary Ecology, 31:489-516 Available HERE

Brainerd, E.L., Blob, R.W., Hedrick, T.L., Creamer, A.T., Müller, U.K. 2017. Data Management Rubric for Video Data in Organismal Biology. Integrative and Comparative Biology, 57:33-47 Available HERE

Taft, N.K., Taft, B.N., Henck, H., Diamond, K.M., Schoenfuss, H.L., Blob, R.W. 2017. Comparative morphology and mechanical properties of the lepidotrichia of climbing and non-climbing Hawaiian gobioid fishes. Cybium 276:889-899. Available HERE

Strunk, R.C., Vernon, K.L., Bridges, W.C., Blob, R.W., Skewes, P.A. 2017. Effects of rider experience level on horse kinematics and behavior. Journal of Equine Veterinary Science, 52: 64 Available HERE

Young, V.KH., Vest, K.G., Rivera, A.R.V., Espinoza, N.R., Blob, R.W. 2017. One foot out the door: limb function during swimming in terrestrial versus aquatic turtles. Biology Letters, 13: 20160732 Available HERE

2016

Diamond, K.M., Schoenfuss, H.L., Walker, J.A., Blob, R.W. 2016. Flowing water affects fish fast-starts: escape performance of the Hawaiian stream goby, Sicyopterus stimpsoni. Journal of Experimental Biology 219: 3100-3105. Available HERE

Kawano, S. M., D. R. Economy, M. S. Kennedy, D. Dean, R. W. Blob. 2016. Comparative limb bone loading in the humerus and femur of the tiger salamander, Ambystoma tigrinum: testing the “mixed-chain” hypothesis for skeletal safety factors. Journal of Experimental Biology 219:341-353. Available HERE

McInroe, B., H. C. Astley, C. Gong, S. M. Kawano, P. E. Schiebel, J. M. Rieser, H. Choset, R. W. Blob, D. I. Goldman. 2016. Tail use improves performance on soft substrates in models of early land locomotors. Science 353:154-158. Available HERE

Blob, R.W., Mayerl, C.J., Rivera, A.R.V., Rivera, G., and Young, V.KH. 2016. “On the fence” versus “all in”: insights from turtles for the evolution of aquatic locomotor specializations and habitat transitions in tetrapod vertebrates. Integrative and Comparative Biology, 56: 1310-1322. Available HERE

Mayerl, C.J., Brainerd, E.L., and Blob, R.W. 2016. Pelvic girdle mobility of cryptodire and pleurodire turtles during walking and swimming. Journal of Experimental Biology 219: 2650-2658. Available HERE

2015

Aiello, B. R., J. Iriarte-Diaz, R. W. Blob, M. T. Butcher, M. T. Carrano, N. R. Espinoza, R. Main, C. F. Ross. 2015. Bone strain magnitude is correlated with bone strain rate in tetrapods: implications for models of mechanotransduction. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 282, DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2015.0321. (write for PDF)

Copploe, J. V. II., R. W. Blob, J. H. A. Parrish, M. T. Butcher. 2015. In vivo strains in the femur of the nine-banded armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus). Journal of Morphology 276:889-899. Available HERE

Moody, K. N., S. N. Hunter, M. J. Childress, R. W. Blob, H. L. Schoenfuss, M. J. Blum, M. B. Ptacek. 2015. Local adaptation despite high gene flow in the waterfall-climbing Hawaiian goby, Sicyopterus stimpsoni. Molecular Ecology 24:545-563. Available HERE (Featured in Molecular Ecology News and Views)

Young, V. K H., R. W. Blob. 2015. Limb-bone loading in swimming turtles: Changes in loading facilitate transitions from tubular to flipper-shaped limbs during aquatic invasions. Biology Letters 11, DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2015.0110. Available HERE

2014

Blob, R. W., T. E. Higham. 2014. Terrestrial locomotion—where do we stand, where are we going? An introduction to the symposium. Integrative and Comparative Biology 54:1051-1057. Available HERE

Blob, R. W., N. R. Espinoza, M. T. Butcher, A. H. Lee, A. R. D’Amico, F. Baig, K. M. Sheffield. 2014. Diversity of limb bone safety factors for locomotion in terrestrial vertebrates: evolution and mixed chains. Integrative and Comparative Biology 54:1058-1071. Available HERE

Maie, T., S. Furtek, H. L. Schoenfuss, R. W. Blob. 2014. Feeding performance and functional modulation of the Hawaiian sleeper, Eleotris sandwicensis (Gobiodei: Eleotridae): implications for selection pressures on prey. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 111:359-374. Available HERE

2013

Aiello, B. R., R. W. Blob, M. T. Butcher. 2013. Correlation of muscle function and bone strain in the hindlimb of the river cooter turtle (Pseudemys concinna). Journal of Morphology 274:1060-1069. Available HERE

Ashley-Ross, M.A., S. T. Hsieh, A. C. Gibb, R. W. Blob. 2013. Vertebrate land invasions—past, present, and future: an introduction to the symposium. Integrative and Comparative Biology 53:192-196. Available HERE

Cullen, J. A., T. Maie, H. L. Schoenfuss, R. W. Blob. 2013. Evolutionary novelty versus exaptation: Oral kinematics in feeding versus climbing in the waterfall-climbing Hawaiian goby Sicyopterus stimpsoni. PLoS One 8: e53274. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0053274. Available HERE

Kawano, S. M., R. W. Blob. 2013. Propulsive forces of mudskipper fins and salamander limbs during terrestrial locomotion: implications for the invasion of land. Integrative and Comparative Biology 53:283-294. Available HERE

Kawano, S. M., W. C. Bridges, H. L. Schoenfuss, T. Maie, R. W. Blob. 2013. Differences in locomotor behavior correspond to different patterns of linear and nonlinear morphological selection in two species of waterfall-climbing gobiid fishes. Evolutionary Ecology 27:949-969. Available HERE

Maie, T., H. L. Schoenfuss, R. W. Blob. 2013. Musculoskeletal determinants of pelvic sucker function in Hawaiian stream gobiid fishes: interspecific comparisons and allometric scaling. Journal of Morphology 733-742. Available HERE

Rivera, A. R. V., G. Rivera, R. W. Blob. 2013. Forelimb kinematics during swimming in the pig-nosed turtle, Carettochelys insculpta, compared with other turtle taxa: rowing versus flapping, convergence versus intermediacy. Journal of Experimental Biology 216:668-680. Available HERE

Rivera, A. R. V., R. W. Blob. 2013. Forelimb muscle function in pig-nosed turtles, Carettochelys insculpta: testing neuromotor conservation between rowing and flapping in swimming turtles. Biology Letters 9:20130471. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2013.0471. Available HERE

Ross, C. F., R. W. Blob, D. R. Carrier, M. A. Daley, S. M. Deban, B. Demes, J. L. Gripper, J. Iriarte-Diaz, B. Kilbourne, T. Landberg, J. Polk, N. Schilling, B. Vanhooydonck. 2013. The evolution of locomotor rhythmicity in tetrapods. Evolution 67:1209-1217. Available HERE

Schoenfuss, H. L., T. Maie, K. N. Moody, K. E. Lesteberg, R. W. Blob, T. C. Schoenfuss. 2013. Stairway to heaven: evaluating levels of biological organization correlated with the successful ascent of natural waterfalls in the Hawaiian stream goby, Sicyopterus stimpsoni. PLoS One 8: e84851. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0084851. Available HERE

2012

Leonard, G., T. Maie, K. Moody, G. Schrank, R.W. Blob, H. L. Schoenfuss. 2012. Finding paradise: cues directing the migration of the waterfall climbing Hawaiian gobioid fish Sicyopterus stimpsoni. Journal of Fish Biology 81:903-920. Available HERE

Maie, T., H. L. Schoenfuss, R. W. Blob. 2012. Performance and scaling of a novel locomotor structure: adhesive capacity of climbing gobiid fishes. Journal of Experimental Biology 215:3925-3936. Available HERE (Featured Inside JEB)

Rivera, A. R. V., J. Davis, W. Grant, R. W. Blob, E. Peterson, A. Neiman, M. Rowe. 2012. Quantifying utricular stimulation during natural behavior. Journal of Experimental Zoology A 317A:467-480. Available HERE

2011

Butcher, M. T., B. J. White, N. B. Hudzik, W. C. Gosnell, J. H. A. Parrish, R. W. Blob. 2011. In vivo strains in the femur of the Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana) during terrestrial locomotion: testing hypotheses of evolutionary shifts in mammalian bone loading and design. Journal of Experimental Biology 214: 2631-2640. Available HERE

Gosnell, W. C., M. T. Butcher, T. Maie, R. W. Blob. 2011. Femoral loading mechanics in the Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana): torsion and mediolateral bending in mammalian locomotion. Journal of Experimental Biology 214: 3455-3466. Available HERE

Maie, T., A. B. Meister, G. L. Leonard, G. D. Schrank, R. W. Blob, H. L. Schoenfuss. 2011. Jaw muscle fiber type distribution in Hawaiian gobioid stream fishes: histochemical correlations with feeding ecology and behavior. Zoology (Jena) 114:340-347. Available HERE

Rivera, A. R. V., J. Wyneken, R. W. Blob. 2011. Forelimb kinematics and motor patterns of swimming loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta): are motor patterns conserved in the evolution of new locomotor strategies? Journal of Experimental Biology 214: 3314-3323. Available HERE

Rivera, G., A. R. V. Rivera, R. W. Blob. 2011. Hydrodynamic stability of the painted turtle (Chrysemys picta): effects of four-limbed rowing versus forelimb flapping in rigid-bodied tetrapods. Journal of Experimental Biology 214: 1153-1162. Available HERE

Schoenfuss, H. L., T. Maie, S. M. Kawano, R. W. Blob. 2011. Performance across extreme environments: comparing waterfall climbing among amphidromous gobioid fishes from Caribbean and Pacific islands. Cybium 35:361-369. Available HERE

Sheffield, K. M., R. W. Blob. 2011. Loading mechanics of the femur in tiger salamanders (Ambystoma tigrinum) during terrestrial locomotion. Journal of Experimental Biology 214: 2603-2615. Available HERE

Sheffield, K. M., M. T. Butcher, S. K. Shugart, J. C. Gander, R. W. Blob. 2011. Locomotor loading mechanics in the hindlimbs of tegu lizards (Tupinambis merianae): comparative and evolutionary implications. Journal of Experimental Biology 214: 2616-2630. Available HERE

2010

Blob, R. W., S. M. Kawano, K. N. Moody, W. C. Bridges, T. Maie, M. B. Ptacek, M. L. Julius, H. L. Schoenfuss. 2010. Morphological selection and the evaluation of potential tradeoffs between escape from predators and the climbing of waterfalls in the Hawaiian stream goby Sicyopterus stimpsoni. Integrative and Comparative Biology 50: 1185-1199. Available HERE

Dougherty, E. E., G. Rivera, R. W. Blob, J. Wyneken. 2010. A comparison of stability in swimming loggerhead (Caretta caretta) and green (Chelonia mydas) sea turtle posthatchlings. Zoology (Jena) 113: 158-167. Available HERE

Gardner, J. D., Z. Rocek, T. Prikryl, J. G. Eaton, R. W. Blob, J. T. Sankey. 2010. Comparative morphology of the ilium of anurans and urodeles (Lissamphibia) and a re-assessment of the anuran affinities of Nezpercius dodsoni Blob et al., 2001. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 30: 1684-1696. Available HERE

Rivera, A. R. V., R. W. Blob. 2010. Forelimb kinematics and motor patterns of the slider turtle (Trachemys scripta) during swimming and walking: shared and novel strategies for meeting locomotor demands of water and land. Journal of Experimental Biology 213: 3515-3528. Available HERE

Schoenfuss, H. L., J. D. Roos, A. R. V. Rivera, R. W. Blob. 2010. Motor patterns of distal hind limb muscles in walking turtles: implications for models of limb bone loading. Journal of Morphology 271: 1527-1536. Available HERE

2009

Gosnell, J. S., G. Rivera, R. W. Blob. 2009. A phylogenetic analysis of sexual size dimorphism in turtles. Herpetologica 65: 70-81. Available HERE

Maie, T., M. P. Wilson, H. L. Schoenfuss, R. W. Blob. 2009. Feeding kinematics and performance of Hawaiian stream gobies, Awaous guamensis and Lentipes concolor: linkage of functional morphology and ecology. Journal of Morphology 270: 344-356. Available HERE

Maie, T., H. L. Schoenfuss, R. W. Blob. 2009. Jaw lever analysis of Hawaiian gobioid stream fishes: a simulation study of morphological diversity and functional performance. Journal of Morphology 270: 976-983. Available HERE

Wilson, M. P., N. R. Espinoza, S. R. Shah, R. W. Blob. 2009. Mechanical properties of the hindlimb bones of bullfrogs and cane toads in bending and torsion. The Anatomical Record 292: 935-944. Available HERE

2008

Blob, R. W., G. Rivera. 2008. Going with the flow: ecomorphological variation across aquatic flow regimes: an introduction to the symposium. Integrative and Comparative Biology 48: 699-701. Available HERE

Blob, R. W., W. C. Bridges, T. Maie, R. A. Cediel, M. M. Bertolas, M. B. Ptacek, M. L. Julius, H. L. Schoenfuss. 2008. Morphological selection in an extreme flow environment: body shape and waterfall-climbing success in the Hawaiian stream fish Sicyopterus stimpsoni. Integrative and Comparative Biology 48: 734-749. Available HERE(corregendium)

Blob, R. W., A. R. V. Rivera, M. W. Westneat. 2008. Hindlimb function in turtle locomotion: limb movements and muscular activation across taxa, environment, and ontogeny. Chapter 6 in J. Wyneken, M. H. Godfrey, and V. Bels, (eds.), Biology of Turtles, CRC Press, pp. 139-162. Available HERE

Butcher, M. T. and Blob, R. W. 2008. Mechanics of limb bone loading during terrestrial locomotion in river cooter turtles (Pseudemys concinna). Journal of Experimental Biology 211: 1187-1202. Available HERE (corregendium)

Butcher, M. T., Espinoza, N. R., Cirilo, S. R., Blob, R. W. 2008. In vivo strains in the femur of river cooter turtles (Pseudemys concinna) during terrestrial locomotion: tests of force-platform models of loading mechanics. Journal of Experimental Biology 211: 2397-2407. Available HERE

Cediel, R. A., R. W. Blob, G. D. Schrank, R. Plourde, and H. L. Schoenfuss. 2008. Muscle fiber type distribution in climbing Hawaiian gobioid fishes: ontogeny and correlations with locomotor performance. Zoology (Jena) 111: 114-122. Available HERE

Shah, S. R., J. D. DesJardins, and R. W. Blob. 2008. Antler stiffness in caribou (Rangifer tarandus): testing variation in bone material properties between males and females. Zoology (Jena) 111: 476-482. Available HERE

2007

Blob, R. W., Wright, K. M, Becker, M, Maie, T., Iverson, T. J., Julius, M. L., Schoenfuss, H. L. 2007. Ontogenetic change in novel functions: waterfall climbing in adult Hawaiian gobiid fishes. Journal of Zoology 273: 200-209. Available HERE

Blob, R. W., and C. Badgley. 2007. Numerical methods for bonebed analysis. Chapter 6 in R. Rogers, D. Eberth, and A. Fiorillo (eds.), Bonebeds: Genesis, Analysis, and Paleoecological Significance, University of Chicago Press, pp. 333-396. Available HERE (more about this book)

Maie, T., H. L. Schoenfuss, and R. W. Blob. 2007. Ontogenetic scaling of body proportions in waterfall-climbing gobiid fishes from Hawai’i and Dominica: implications for locomotor function. Copeia 2007: 756-765. Available HERE

Schoenfuss, H. L., and R. W. Blob. 2007. The importance of functional morphology for fishery conservation and management: applications to Hawaiian amphidromous fishes. Bishop Museum Bulletin in Cultural and Environmental Studies 3: 125-141. Available HERE

2006

Blob, R. W. 2006. Scaling of the hindlimb skeleton in cynognathian cynodonts: implications for ontogeny and thermoregulation (Chapter 13). In M. T. Carrano, T. J. Gaudin, R. W. Blob, and J. R. Wible (eds.), Amniote Paleobiology: Perspectives on the Evolution of Mammals, Birds, and Reptiles, University of Chicago Press, pp. 410-431. Available HERE (more about this book)

Blob, R. W., Rai, R., Julius, M. L., Schoenfuss, H. L. 2006. Functional diversity in extreme environments: effects of locomotor style and substrate texture on the waterfall-climbing performance of Hawaiian gobiid fishes. Journal of Zoology 268: 315-324. Available HERE

Blob, R. W., and J. M. Snelgrove. 2006. Antler stiffness in moose (Alces alces): correlated evolution of bone function and material properties? Journal of Morphology 267: 1075-1086. Available HERE

Gaudin, T. J., Carrano, M. T., Blob, R. W., Wible, J. R. 2006. Introduction (Chapter 1). In M. T. Carrano, T. J. Gaudin, R. W. Blob, and J. R. Wible (eds.), Amniote Paleobiology: Perspectives on the Evolution of Mammals, Birds, and Reptiles, University of Chicago Press, pp. 1-17. Available HERE (more about this book)

Rivera, G., Rivera, A. R. V., Dougherty, E. E., Blob, R. W. 2006. Aquatic turning performance of painted turtles (Chrysemys picta) and functional consequences of a rigid body design. Journal of Experimental Biology 209: 4203-4213. Available HERE

2005

Julius, M. L., Blob, R. W., Schoenfuss, H. L. 2005. The survival of Sicyopterus stimpsoni, an endemic Hawaiian gobiid fish, relies on the hydrological cycles of streams: evidence from changes in algal composition of diet through growth stages. Aquatic Ecology 39: 473-484. Available HERE

Reilly, S. M., J. S. Willey , A. R. Biknevicius, and R. W. Blob. 2005. Locomotor dynamics in a semi-erect posture: integrating movements, motor patterns, ground reaction forces and bone strains of hindlimb locomotion in the alligator. Journal of Experimental Biology 208: 993-1009. Available HERE

2004

Schoenfuss, H. L., M. L. Julius, and R. W. Blob. 2004. Colonization of a recent, volcanically formed freshwater habitat: an example of primary succession. Ichthyological Explorations of Freshwaters 15: 83-90. Available HERE

Willey, J. S. and R. W. Blob. 2004. Tail kinematics of juvenile common snapping turtles during aquatic walking. Journal of Herpetology 38: 360-369. Available HERE

2003

Reilly, S. M. and R. W. Blob. 2003. Motor control of locomotor hindlimb posture in the American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis). Journal of Experimental Biology 206: 4327-4340. Available HERE

Schoenfuss, H. L. and R. W. Blob. 2003. Kinematics of waterfall climbing in Hawaiian freshwater fishes (Gobiidae): vertical propulsion at the aquatic-terrestrial interface. Journal of Zoology 261: 191-205. Available HERE

Westneat, M. W., O. Betz, R. W. Blob, K. Fezzaa, W. J. Cooper, W. Lee. 2003. Tracheal respiration in insects visualized with synchrotron X-ray imaging. Science 299: 558-560. Available HERE

2001

Blob, R. W. 2001. Evolution of hindlimb posture in non-mammalian therapsids: biomechanical tests of paleontological hypotheses. Paleobiology 27: 14-38. Available HERE

Blob, R. W. and A. A. Biewener. 2001. Mechanics of limb bone loading during terrestrial locomotion in the green iguana (Iguana iguana) and American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis). Journal of Experimental Biology 204: 1099-1122. Available HERE

Blob, R. W., M. T. Carrano, R. R. Rogers, C. A. Forster, and N. R. Espinoza. 2001. A new fossil frog from the Upper Cretaceous Judith River Formation of Montana. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 21: 190-194. Available HERE

Blob, R. W. and M. LaBarbera. 2001. Correlates of variation in deer antler stiffness: age, mineral content, intra-antler location, habitat, and phylogeny. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 74: 113-120. Available HERE

Gillis, G. B. and R. W. Blob. 2001. How muscles accommodate movement in different physical environments: aquatic versus terrestrial locomotion. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology A 131: 61-75. Available HERE

Pace, C. M., R. W. Blob, and M. W. Westneat. 2001. Comparative kinematics of the forelimb during swimming in red-eared slider (Trachemys scripta) and spiny softshell (Apalone spinifera) turtles. Journal of Experimental Biology 202: 3261-3271. Available HERE

2000

Blob, R. W. 2000. Interspecific scaling of the hind limb skeleton in lizards, crocodilians, felids and canids: does limb bone shape correlate with limb posture? Journal of Zoology 250: 507-531. Available HERE

1999

Blob, R. W. and A. A. Biewener. 1999. In vivo locomotor strain in the hind limb bones of Alligator mississipiensis and Iguana iguana: implications for the evolution of limb bone safety factor and non-sprawling limb posture. Journal of Experimental Biology 202: 1023-1046. Available HERE

1998

Blob, R. W. 1998. Evaluation of vent position from lizard skeletons for estimation of snout-vent length and body mass. Copeia 1998: 792-801. Available HERE

1997

Blob, R. W. 1997. Relative hydrodynamic dispersal potentials of soft-shelled turtle elements: implications for interpreting skeletal sorting in assemblages of non-mammalian terrestrial vertebrates. Palaios 12: 151-164. Available HERE (erratum)

1996

Blob, R. W. and A. R. Fiorillo. 1996. The significance of vertebrate microfossil size and shape distributions for faunal abundance reconstructions: a Late Cretaceous example. Paleobiology 22: 422-435. Available HERE