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Cox, Christian
Graduate Faculty
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Affiliated Member
,
Institute of Environment
,
College of Arts, Sciences & Education
ccox@fiu.edu
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Overview
Publications
Research
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Overview
overview
Ecology, Integrative Evolutionary Biology
Publications
selected scholarly works & creative activities
Article
2026
Plasticity and regional heterothermy of upper thermal tolerance in the ring-necked snake
.
Journal of Thermal Biology
. 135.
Full Text via DOI:
10.1016/j.jtherbio.2025.104354
Web of Science:
001650987700001
2025
Beating the Heat: A Lowland Tropical Lizard Expresses Heat Shock Protein Networks in Response to Acute Thermal Stress
.
Integrative and Comparative Biology
. 65:1109-1120.
Full Text via DOI:
10.1093/icb/icaf057
Web of Science:
001516644400001
2025
Higher parasite load is associated with lower heat tolerance in a tropical lizard
.
Journal of Experimental Biology
. 228.
Full Text via DOI:
10.1242/jeb.250580
Web of Science:
001589100200026
2025
The genetic basis of a colorful signal: the polymorphic dewlap of the slender anole (
Anolis apletophallus
)
.
Heredity
. 134:343-351.
Full Text via DOI:
10.1038/s41437-025-00763-z
Web of Science:
001479059500001
2024
Effects of Testosterone on Gene Expression Are Concordant between Sexes but Divergent across Species of
Sceloporus
Lizards
.
The American Naturalist
. 204:517-532.
Full Text via DOI:
10.1086/732200
Web of Science:
001321273100001
2024
Temperature dependence of regional heterothermy in a diminutive ectotherm
.
Journal of Experimental Biology
. 227.
Full Text via DOI:
10.1242/jeb.247759
Web of Science:
001360222200030
2024
Feeding behavior varies based upon prey defenses in the ground snake (Squamata: Serpentes:
Sonora episcopa
)
.
Journal of Zoology
. 324:71-82.
Full Text via DOI:
10.1111/jzo.13198
Web of Science:
001272483800001
2024
Plasticity of Gene Expression and Thermal Tolerance: Implications for Climate Change Vulnerability in a Tropical Forest Lizard
.
ECOLOGICAL AND EVOLUTIONARY PHYSIOLOGY
. 97:81-96.
Full Text via DOI:
10.1086/729927
Web of Science:
001594980800003
2024
3D printed models are an accurate, cost-effective, and reproducible tool for quantifying terrestrial thermal environments
.
Journal of Thermal Biology
. 119.
Full Text via DOI:
10.1016/j.jtherbio.2023.103762
Web of Science:
001133956900001
2023
A high-quality genome for the slender anole (Anolis apletophallus): an emerging model for field studies of tropical ecology and evolution
.
G3: Genes, Genomes, Genetics
. 14.
Full Text via DOI:
10.1093/g3journal/jkad248
Web of Science:
001105781400001
2023
Species differences in hormonally mediated gene expression underlie the evolutionary loss of sexually dimorphic coloration in Sceloporus lizards
.
Journal of Heredity
. 114:637-653.
Full Text via DOI:
10.1093/jhered/esad046
Web of Science:
001050242300001
2023
DNA Methylation and Counterdirectional Pigmentation Change following Immune Challenge in a Small Ectotherm
.
Physiological and Biochemical Zoology
. 96:418-429.
Full Text via DOI:
10.1086/727692
Web of Science:
001150414400005
2023
Island colonisation leads to rapid behavioural and morphological divergence in
Anolis
lizards
.
Evolutionary Ecology
. 37:779-795.
Full Text via DOI:
10.1007/s10682-023-10248-2
Web of Science:
001013400100001
2023
Bite or flight? Behavioral interactions between bark anoles and brown anoles in their nonnative range
.
Journal of Zoology
. 321:40-49.
Full Text via DOI:
10.1111/jzo.13094
Web of Science:
001008374500001
2023
When Food Fights Back: Skull Morphology and Feeding Behavior of Centipede-Eating Snakes
.
Integrative and Comparative Biology
. 63:34-47.
Full Text via DOI:
10.1093/icb/icad047
Web of Science:
001002364600001
2023
A diminutive snake species can maintain regional heterothermy in both and thermal environments
.
Journal of Experimental Biology
. 226.
Full Text via DOI:
10.1242/jeb.245380
Web of Science:
001018280800008
2023
A diminutive snake species can maintain regional heterothermy in both homogeneous and heterogeneous thermal environments.
.
Journal of Experimental Biology
. 226:jeb245380.
Full Text via DOI:
10.1242/jeb.245380
2022
Sustained Drought, but Not Short-Term Warming, Alters the Gut Microbiomes of Wild
Anolis
Lizards
.
Applied and Environmental Microbiology
. 88.
Full Text via DOI:
10.1128/aem.00530-22
Web of Science:
000861409300001
2022
Climate anomalies and competition reduce establishment success during island colonization
.
Ecology and Evolution
. 12.
Full Text via DOI:
10.1002/ece3.9402
Web of Science:
000865096400001
2022
Species-Specific Expression of Growth-Regulatory Genes in 2 Anoles with Divergent Patterns of Sexual Size Dimorphism
.
Integrative Organismal Biology
. 4.
Full Text via DOI:
10.1093/iob/obac025
Web of Science:
000837773700001
2022
Evolution of hormone-phenotype couplings and hormone-genome interactions
.
Hormones and Behavior
. 144.
Full Text via DOI:
10.1016/j.yhbeh.2022.105216
Web of Science:
000831015000006
2022
Ontogenetic Change in Male Expression of Testosterone-Responsive Genes Contributes to the Emergence of Sex-Biased Gene Expression in
Anolis sagrei
.
Frontiers in Physiology
. 13.
Full Text via DOI:
10.3389/fphys.2022.886973
Web of Science:
000816006200001
2022
Ecology drives patterns of spectral transmission in the ocular lenses of frogs and salamanders
.
Functional Ecology
. 36:850-864.
Full Text via DOI:
10.1111/1365-2435.14018
Web of Science:
000762097200001
2022
Predator-based selection and the impact of edge sympatry on components of coral snake mimicry
.
Evolutionary Ecology
. 36:135-149.
Full Text via DOI:
10.1007/s10682-021-10143-8
Web of Science:
000741590400001
2022
HOW MANY SPECIES OF RATTLESNAKES ARE THERE IN THE CROTALUS DURISSUS SPECIES GROUP (SERPENTES: CROTALIDAE)?
.
Revista Latinoamericana De Herpetologia
. 5:43-55.
Full Text via DOI:
10.22201/fc.25942158e.2022.1.330
2021
A chromosome-level genome assembly for the eastern fence lizard (
Sceloporus undulatus
), a reptile model for physiological and evolutionary ecology
.
GigaScience
. 10.
Full Text via DOI:
10.1093/gigascience/giab066
Web of Science:
000708518100002
2021
Elevation, oxygen, and the origins of viviparity
.
Journal of Experimental Zoology Part B: Molecular and Developmental Evolution
. 336:457-469.
Full Text via DOI:
10.1002/jez.b.23072
Web of Science:
000672177900001
2021
Habitat structure mediates vulnerability to climate change through its effects on thermoregulatory behavior
.
Biotropica
. 53:1121-1133.
Full Text via DOI:
10.1111/btp.12951
Web of Science:
000646076800001
2021
Sex-Specific Population Differences in Resting Metabolism Are Associated with Intraspecific Variation in Sexual Size Dimorphism of Brown Anoles
.
Physiological and Biochemical Zoology
. 94:205-214.
Full Text via DOI:
10.1086/714638
Web of Science:
000648687000001
2021
Tactile stimuli induce deimatic antipredator displays in ringneck snakes
.
Ethology
. 127:465-474.
Full Text via DOI:
10.1111/eth.13152
Web of Science:
000636694700001
2021
Using Integrative Biology to Infer Adaptation from Comparisons of Two (or a Few) Species
.
Physiological and Biochemical Zoology
. 94:162-170.
Full Text via DOI:
10.1086/714018
Web of Science:
000637084500001
2021
Genetic mechanisms and correlational selection structure trait variation in a coral snake mimic
.
Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Biological Sciences
. 288.
Full Text via DOI:
10.1098/rspb.2021.0003
Web of Science:
000629960300010
2021
Sex-specific microhabitat use is associated with sex-biased thermal physiology in
Anolis
lizards
.
Journal of Experimental Biology
. 224.
Full Text via DOI:
10.1242/jeb.235697
Web of Science:
000614491900012
2020
Sex-biased parasitism and expression of a sexual signal
.
Biological Journal of the Linnean Society
. 131:785-800.
Full Text via DOI:
10.1093/biolinnean/blaa162
Web of Science:
000605693200005
2020
Thermal ecology and physiology of an elongate and semi-fossorial arthropod, the bark centipede
.
Journal of Thermal Biology
. 94.
Full Text via DOI:
10.1016/j.jtherbio.2020.102755
Web of Science:
000598118000005
2020
Relative fitness of decoy coloration is mediated by habitat type
.
Zoology
. 142.
Full Text via DOI:
10.1016/j.zool.2020.125820
Web of Science:
000579358100007
2020
Spatial and temporal dynamics of exuberant colour polymorphism in the southern cricket frog
.
Journal of Natural History
. 54:2249-2264.
Full Text via DOI:
10.1080/00222933.2020.1842536
Web of Science:
000623638100001
2020
Ectoparasite extinction in simplified lizard assemblages during experimental island invasion
.
Biology Letters
. 16.
Full Text via DOI:
10.1098/rsbl.2020.0474
Web of Science:
000560114300001
2020
Social Behavior in
Nototriton brodiei
in the Cloud Forest of Cusuco National Park, Honduras
.
South American Journal of Herpetology
. 17:29-32.
Full Text via DOI:
10.2994/SAJH-D-18-00015.1
Web of Science:
000566775900003
2020
Evolutionary history and sex are significant drivers of crayfish demography in resource-limited cave ecosystems
.
Evolutionary Ecology
. 34:235-255.
Full Text via DOI:
10.1007/s10682-019-10029-w
Web of Science:
000503668200001
2020
Acclimatization in the physiological performance of an introduced ectotherm
.
Journal of Experimental Biology
. 223.
Full Text via DOI:
10.1242/jeb.201517
Web of Science:
000541830200001
2020
Acclimatization in the physiological performance of an introduced ectotherm.
.
Journal of Experimental Biology
.
Full Text via DOI:
10.1242/jeb.201517
2020
Sex-specific microhabitat use is associated with sex-biased thermal physiology in Anolis lizards.
.
Journal of Experimental Biology
.
Full Text via DOI:
10.1242/jeb.235697
2019
Environmental heterogeneity and not vicariant biogeographic barriers generate community-wide population structure in desert-adapted snakes
.
Molecular Ecology
. 28:4535-4548.
Full Text via DOI:
10.1111/mec.15182
Web of Science:
000480997100001
2019
Evolutionary and ecological forces underlying ontogenetic loss of decoy coloration
.
Biological Journal of the Linnean Society
. 128:138-148.
Full Text via DOI:
10.1093/biolinnean/blz084
Web of Science:
000482418500012
2019
HERPETOFAUNAL ASSEMBLAGE AND NATURAL HISTORY OF A WETLAND AND PRAIRIE COMPLEX OF THE NORTHERN GREAT PLAINS
.
Southwestern Naturalist
. 64:89-97.
Full Text via DOI:
10.1894/0038-4909-64-2-89
Web of Science:
000537287900003
2019
Evidence of predation risk increases with body size in a diminutive snake
.
Journal of Zoology
. 307:141-148.
Full Text via DOI:
10.1111/jzo.12627
Web of Science:
000458431500007
2018
Testing the geographical dimensions of genetic diversity following range expansion in a North American snake
.
Biological Journal of the Linnean Society
. 125:586-599.
Full Text via DOI:
10.1093/biolinnean/bly137
Web of Science:
000450043000010
2018
Do ring-necked snakes choose retreat sites based upon thermal preferences?
.
Journal of Thermal Biology
. 71:232-236.
Full Text via DOI:
10.1016/j.jtherbio.2017.11.020
Web of Science:
000423637400029
2017
Hormonally Mediated Increases in Sex-Biased Gene Expression Accompany the Breakdown of Between-Sex Genetic Correlations in a Sexually Dimorphic Lizard
.
The American Naturalist
. 189:315-332.
Full Text via DOI:
10.1086/690105
Web of Science:
000395447700011
2016
Correlated evolution between targets of pre- and postcopulatory sexual selection across squamate reptiles
.
Ecology and Evolution
. 6:6452-6459.
Full Text via DOI:
10.1002/ece3.2344
Web of Science:
000384527200003
2016
Coral snakes predict the evolution of mimicry across New World snakes
.
Nature Communications
. 7.
Full Text via DOI:
10.1038/ncomms11484
Web of Science:
000375494600001
2016
Sex-specific antipredator response to auditory cues in the black spiny-tailed iguana
.
Journal of Zoology
. 299:68-74.
Full Text via DOI:
10.1111/jzo.12326
Web of Science:
000378547600009
2016
Unlinked Mendelian inheritance of red and black pigmentation in snakes: Implications for Batesian mimicry
.
Evolution
. 70:944-953.
Full Text via DOI:
10.1111/evo.12902
Web of Science:
000374341100018
2016
Both sexes suffer increased parasitism and reduced energy storage as costs of reproduction in the brown anole,
Anolis sagrei
.
Biological Journal of the Linnean Society
. 117:516-527.
Full Text via DOI:
10.1111/bij.12685
Web of Science:
000370159100010
2015
Phylogeography and lineage-specific patterns of genetic diversity and molecular evolution in a group of North American skinks
.
Biological Journal of the Linnean Society
. 116:819-833.
Full Text via DOI:
10.1111/bij.12626
Web of Science:
000363515200007
2015
The Metabolic Cost of Mounting an Immune Response in Male Brown Anoles (
Anolis sagrei
)
.
Journal of Experimental Zoology Part A: Ecological and Integrative Physiology
. 323:689-695.
Full Text via DOI:
10.1002/jez.1960
Web of Science:
000365970300001
2015
Evolutionary shifts in habitat aridity predict evaporative water loss across squamate reptiles
.
Evolution
. 69:2507-2516.
Full Text via DOI:
10.1111/evo.12742
Web of Science:
000362964700020
2015
Female anoles retain responsiveness to testosterone despite the evolution of androgen-mediated sexual dimorphism
.
Functional Ecology
. 29:758-767.
Full Text via DOI:
10.1111/1365-2435.12383
Web of Science:
000357737500004
2014
A New Salamander of the Genus
Chiropterotriton
(Caudata: Plethodontidae) from the Sierra Madre Oriental of Tamaulipas, Mexico
.
South American Journal of Herpetology
. 9:228-234.
Full Text via DOI:
10.2994/SAJH-D-14-00042.1
Web of Science:
000347084200007
2014
Patterns of genetic diversity in the polymorphic ground snake (
Sonora semiannulata
)
.
Genetica
. 142:361-370.
Full Text via DOI:
10.1007/s10709-014-9780-7
Web of Science:
000339879800008
2014
Additional distributional records of a recently described Mexican toad species, Incilius mccoyi (Anura: Bufonidae)
.
Herpetology Notes
. 7:207-210.
2014
Cryptic genetic diversity and complex phylogeography of the boreal North American scorpion,
Paruroctonus
boreus
(Vaejovidae)
.
Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution
. 71:298-307.
Full Text via DOI:
10.1016/j.ympev.2013.11.005
Web of Science:
000330086000024
2013
Spatial and Temporal Drivers of Phenotypic Diversity in Polymorphic Snakes
.
The American Naturalist
. 182:E40-E57.
Full Text via DOI:
10.1086/670988
Web of Science:
000321703400002
2013
Sequence variation in the
Mc1r
gene for a group of polymorphic snakes
.
Gene
. 513:282-286.
Full Text via DOI:
10.1016/j.gene.2012.10.065
Web of Science:
000314328300009
2012
The fitness consequences of the autotomous blue tail in lizards: an empirical test of predator response using clay models
.
Zoology
. 115:339-344.
Full Text via DOI:
10.1016/j.zool.2012.04.001
Web of Science:
000312675700007
2012
Rapid range expansion in the Great Plains narrow-mouthed toad (
Gastrophryne olivacea
) and a revised taxonomy for North American microhylids
.
Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution
. 64:645-653.
Full Text via DOI:
10.1016/j.ympev.2012.05.020
Web of Science:
000306621400021
2012
PATTERNS OF GENETIC DIFFERENTIATION AMONG POPULATIONS OF
SMILISCA FODIENS
.
Herpetologica
. 68:226-235.
Web of Science:
000305259400008
2012
Non-linear scaling of oxygen consumption and heart rate in a very large cockroach species (
Gromphadorhina portentosa
): correlated changes with body size and temperature
.
Journal of Experimental Biology
. 215:1137-1143.
Full Text via DOI:
10.1242/jeb.061143
Web of Science:
000301299500019
2012
Molecular systematics of the genus
Sonora
(Squamata: Colubridae) in central and western Mexico
.
Systematics and Biodiversity
. 10:93-108.
Full Text via DOI:
10.1080/14772000.2012.666293
Web of Science:
000305512500005
2012
Report from the First Snake Genomics and Integrative Biology Meeting
.
Standards in Genomic Sciences
. 7:150-152.
Full Text via DOI:
10.4056/sigs.3106480
Web of Science:
000314405900013
2010
Analyzing the relationship between sequence divergence and nodal support using Bayesian phylogenetic analyses
.
Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution
. 57:485-494.
Full Text via DOI:
10.1016/j.ympev.2010.05.009
Web of Science:
000284176800001
2009
COVER OBJECT USAGE AMONG AN ASSEMBLAGE OF IOWA SNAKES
.
Herpetological Conservation and Biology
. 4:80-84.
Web of Science:
000207807000009
2008
Matched regulation of gastrointestinal performance in the Burmese python,
Python molurus
.
Journal of Experimental Biology
. 211:1131-1140.
Full Text via DOI:
10.1242/jeb.015313
Web of Science:
000254463300021
2007
Effects of meal size, clutch, and metabolism on the energy efficiencies of juvenile Burmese pythons,
Python molurus
.
Comparative biochemistry and physiology. Part A, Molecular & integrative physiology
. 148:861-868.
Full Text via DOI:
10.1016/j.cbpa.2007.08.029
Web of Science:
000251762000018
2007
Cooking and grinding reduces the cost of meat digestion
.
Comparative biochemistry and physiology. Part A, Molecular & integrative physiology
. 148:651-656.
Full Text via DOI:
10.1016/j.cbpa.2007.08.014
Web of Science:
000250656100021
2007
Effects of meal size, meal type, and body temperature on the specific dynamic action of anurans
.
Journal of Comparative Physiology B: Biochemical, Systemic, and Environmental Physiology
. 177:165-182.
Full Text via DOI:
10.1007/s00360-006-0119-2
Web of Science:
000243906300003
2002
Autogamy and floral longevity in
Mimulus guttatus
.
International Journal of Plant Sciences
. 163:567-573.
Full Text via DOI:
10.1086/340444
Web of Science:
000176098700008
Condition dependence of shared traits differs between sympatric
Anolis
lizards
.
Journal of Experimental Zoology Part A: Ecological and Integrative Physiology
. 327:110-118.
Full Text via DOI:
10.1002/jez.2076
Web of Science:
000408998700004
Integrated Postprandial Responses of the Diamondback Water Snake,
Nerodia rhombifer
.
Physiological and Biochemical Zoology
. 83:618-631.
Full Text via DOI:
10.1086/648737
Web of Science:
000278785100006
Book Chapter
2023
The integrative biology of snake coloration
. 179-217.
Conference
2023
Feeding Behavior and Prey Selection of a Small Fossorial Snake, Tantilla gracilis
.
Integrative and Comparative Biology
. S126-S126.
Web of Science:
000948800900357
2023
Species-specific expression of growth-regulatory genes in Anolis congeners with divergent patterns of sexual size dimorphism
.
Integrative and Comparative Biology
. S66-S66.
Web of Science:
000948800900189
2021
Both gene expression and physiology respond plasticity to thermal stress in a tropical forest lizard
.
Integrative and Comparative Biology
. E763-E763.
Web of Science:
000651814702226
2021
Genetic constraints, gene expression plasticity, and the importance of extreme weather events in the evolutionary response to climate change
.
Integrative and Comparative Biology
. E538-E539.
Web of Science:
000651814701180
2021
Temperature, oxygen, and the origins of viviparity
.
Integrative and Comparative Biology
. E961-E962.
Web of Science:
000651814703203
2021
Using integrative biology to infer adaptation from comparisons of two (or a few) species
.
Integrative and Comparative Biology
. E166-E167.
Web of Science:
000651814700213
2020
Evolution of skull morphology during diversification in specialist snakes
.
Integrative and Comparative Biology
. E342-E342.
Web of Science:
000536432401564
2020
Phenotypic Plasticity and the Response to Increasing Temperatures in a Tropical Lowland Lizard
.
Integrative and Comparative Biology
. E200-E200.
Web of Science:
000536432400800
2020
Sex-biased Parasitism and the Expression of a Sexual Signal in a Tropical Forest Lizard
.
Integrative and Comparative Biology
. E47-E47.
Web of Science:
000536432400189
Letter
2013
The relative utility of sequence divergence and phylogenetic informativeness profiling in phylogenetic study design
.
Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution
. 437-437.
Full Text via DOI:
10.1016/j.ympev.2012.10.016
Web of Science:
000312417800041
Note
2017
Squamata - Lizards: Anolis sagrei (brown anole) and leiocephalus carinatus (northern curlytail lizard). ectoparasites
.
Herpetological Review
. 842.
Other Scholarly Work
2022
Predator-based selection and the impact of edge sympatry on components of coral snake mimicry (Feb, 10.1007/s10682-021-10143-8, 2022)
.
Evolutionary Ecology
. 151-151.
Full Text via DOI:
10.1007/s10682-022-10161-0
Web of Science:
000758969200001
2019
Evolutionary and ecological forces underlying ontogenetic loss of decoy coloration (vol 128, pg 138, 2019)
.
Biological Journal of the Linnean Society
. 778-778.
Full Text via DOI:
10.1093/biolinnean/blz137
Web of Science:
000493459600022
Preprint
2021
Predator-Based Selection And The Impact of Edge Sympatry On Components of Coral Snake Mimicry
Full Text via DOI:
10.21203/rs.3.rs-493560/v1
2020
A chromosome-level genome assembly for the Eastern Fence Lizard (
Sceloporus undulatus
), a reptile model for physiological and evolutionary ecology
Full Text via DOI:
10.1101/2020.06.06.138248
Widespread male-female expression imbalance of X-linked genes across phrynosomatid lizards
Full Text via DOI:
10.1101/2025.10.06.680020
Review
2025
The integrative biology of decoy coloration in lizards
.
Journal of Experimental Biology
.
Full Text via DOI:
10.1242/jeb.249623
Web of Science:
001492173500010
2020
Genetic Constraints, Transcriptome Plasticity, and the Evolutionary Response to Climate Change
.
Frontiers in Genetics
.
Full Text via DOI:
10.3389/fgene.2020.538226
Web of Science:
000576435200001
2018
Synopsis and taxonomic revision of three genera in the snake tribe Sonorini
.
Journal of Natural History
. 945-988.
Full Text via DOI:
10.1080/00222933.2018.1449912
Web of Science:
000430048200007
2011
Spatial Dynamics of Body Size Frequency Distributions for North American Squamates
.
Evolutionary Biology
. 453-464.
Full Text via DOI:
10.1007/s11692-011-9132-9
Web of Science:
000300092100007
Research
principal investigator on
RoL: Collaborative Proposal: Integrating responses to environmental change across the biological hierarchy: interactions between behavior, plasticity, and genetic change
awarded by
National Science Foundation
2020 - 2026
Collaborative Research: Evolutionary reversals in hormonal modulation of growth-regulatory gene networks
awarded by
National Science Foundation
2019 - 2023
Contact
full name
Christian
Cox
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