Research

Decreased locomotor performance following tail loss is well-recorded in a wide variety of lizard species. Maximum running velocity, as well as climbing and jumping ability are often lower following autotomy. Prey capture is a complex locomotor behavior which combines running and jumping to successfully capture evasive prey. I wanted to see if the observed decreases in locomotor performance would be reflected in a decreased ability to capture prey in the terrestrial gecko Coleonyx variegatus. Using 3-D high speed videography, I recorded C. variegatus geckos striking both evasive prey (crickets) and non-evasive prey (mealworms). I found that although prey capture success was not altered by tail loss, maximum velocity of prey capture strikes was significantly slower following autotomy when attacking crickets, but wasa not significantly different when attacking mealworms.

Results from this project were published in Integrative and Comparative Biology and Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience.

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Having found a decrease in prey capture performance following tail autotomy in lab experiments, I wanted to investigate if these impacts were observable in wild geckos navigating a natural environment. I collaborated with Dr. Amber Wright at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa to employ experimental enclosures as a method to observe behavior of known individuals in a manipulable natural setting. We stocked each enclosure with approximately half autotomized and half intact gold dust day geckos (Phelsuma laticauda) and observed gecko prey capture behavior through focal animal observations and standardized scans for two weeks following tail loss. Results are currently in prep.  

Observing wild gold dust day geckos revealed several differences in prey capture behavior and habitat use following autotomy, but elucidating the underlying biomechanical changes driving these differences was not possible with our field methods. To focus in on the biomechanics of prey capture and locomotion following autotomy, I brought day geckos back to the lab and filmed prey capture strikes and maximum running performance with high speed cameras at 30 and 90 degree slopes and using both rough and smooth surfaces. Initial results show locomotor performance following autotomy is only lower on rough surfaces and performance is maintained on the smooth acrylic. So far prey capture strikes appear unaffected by tail loss. Results from this project were presented at SICB 2025 on January 4th.