Tracy Langkilde

Penn State Interim Executive Vice President and Provost; Dean of the Eberly College of Science; Professor of Biology

Tracy Langkilde

Research Summary

The interface of ecology and evolution to understand how an organism's traits are matched to its environment and responds to novel selective pressures imposed by global environmental change, and the consequences of this adaptation.

Huck Affiliations

Links

Most Recent Publications

Genomic signatures of adaptation in native lizards exposed to human-introduced fire ants

Braulio A. Assis, Alexis P. Sullivan, Stephanie Marciniak, Christina M. Bergey, Vanessa Garcia, Zachary A. Szpiech, Tracy Langkilde, George H. Perry, 2025, Nature Communications

Evidence for urban food limitation in a widespread invasive lizard

Sean T. Giery, Zachary A. Chejanovski, Braulio A. Assis, Tracy Langkilde, Jason J. Kolbe, 2025, Urban Ecosystems

Misapplied management makes matters worse: Spatially explicit control leverages biotic interactions to slow invasion

Emily Howerton, Tracy Langkilde, Katriona Shea, 2024, Ecological Applications

The effects of early-life and intergenerational stress on the brain

Lara D. Ladage, Gail L. McCormick, Travis R. Robbins, Anna S. Longwell, Tracy Langkilde, 2023, Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences

Consumption of fire ants, an invasive predator and prey of native lizards, may enhance immune functions needed to combat envenomation

C. Tylan, H. I. Engler, G. Villar, T. Langkilde, 2023, Biological Invasions on p. 725-740

Fitness Costs of Maternal Ornaments and Prenatal Corticosterone Manifest as Reduced Offspring Survival and Sexual Ornament Expression

Braulio A. Assis, Julian D. Avery, Ryan L. Earley, Tracy Langkilde, 2022, Frontiers in Endocrinology

Masculinized Sexual Ornaments in Female Lizards Correlate with Ornament-Enhancing Thermoregulatory Behavior

B. A. Assis, J. D. Avery, R. L. Earley, T. Langkilde, 2022, Integrative Organismal Biology

Context-dependent effects of glucocorticoids on the lizard gut microbiome

Kirsty J. MacLeod, Kevin D. Kohl, Brian K. Trevelline, Tracy Langkilde, 2022, Molecular Ecology on p. 185-196

Compensating for a stressful pregnancy? Glucocorticoid treatment during gravidity reduces metabolic rate in female fence lizards post-parturition

K. J. MacLeod, T. Langkilde, J. J. Heppner, C. A.F. Howey, K. Sprayberry, C. Tylan, M. J. Sheriff, 2021, Hormones and Behavior

The influence of maternal glucocorticoids on offspring phenotype in high-and low-risk environments

Kirsty J. MacLeod, Tracy Langkilde, Cameron P. Venable, David C. Ensminger, Michael J. Sheriff, 2021, Behavioral Ecology on p. 1330-1338

Most-Cited Papers

In ovo microbial communities: A potential mechanism for the initial acquisition of gut microbiota among oviparous birds and lizards

Brian K. Trevelline, Kirsty J. MacLeod, Sarah A. Knutie, Tracy Langkilde, Kevin D. Kohl, 2018, Biology Letters

How do duration, frequency, and intensity of exogenous CORT elevation affect immune outcomes of stress?

Gail L. McCormick, Katriona Shea, Tracy Langkilde, 2015, General and Comparative Endocrinology on p. 81-87

Maternal stress alters the phenotype of the mother, her eggs and her offspring in a wild-caught lizard

David C. Ensminger, Tracy Langkilde, Dustin A.S. Owen, Kirsty J. MacLeod, Michael J. Sheriff, 2018, Journal of Animal Ecology on p. 1685-1697

Obtaining plasma to measure baseline corticosterone concentrations in reptiles: How quick is quick enough?

Catherine Tylan, Kiara Camacho, Susannah French, Sean P. Graham, Mark W. Herr, Jermayne Jones, Gail L. McCormick, Melissa A. O'Brien, Jennifer B. Tennessen, Christopher J. Thawley, Alison Webb, Tracy Langkilde, 2020, General and Comparative Endocrinology

Survival and reproductive costs of repeated acute glucocorticoid elevations in a captive, wild animal

K. J. MacLeod, M. J. Sheriff, D. C. Ensminger, D. A.S. Owen, T. Langkilde, 2018, General and Comparative Endocrinology on p. 1-6

Gestation alters the gut microbiota of an oviparous lizard

Brian K. Trevelline, Kirsty J. Macleod, Tracy Langkilde, Kevin D. Kohl, 2019, FEMS Microbiology Ecology

Frogs adapt to physiologically costly anthropogenic noise

Jennifer B. Tennessen, Susan E. Parks, Lindsey Swierk, Laura K. Reinert, Whitney M. Holden, Louise A. Rollins-Smith, Koranda A. Walsh, Tracy Langkilde, 2018, Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences

Are invasive species stressful? The glucocorticoid profile of native lizards exposed to invasive fire ants depends on the context

Sean P. Graham, Nicole A. Freidenfelds, Christopher J. Thawley, Travis R. Robbins, Tracy Langkilde, 2017, Physiological and Biochemical Zoology on p. 328-337

Raising a racket: Invasive species compete acoustically with native treefrogs

Jennifer B. Tennessen, Susan E. Parks, Travis P. Tennessen, Tracy Langkilde, 2016, Animal Behaviour on p. 53-61

Ancestry trumps experience: Transgenerational but not early life stress affects the adult physiological stress response

Gail L. McCormick, Travis R. Robbins, Sonia A. Cavigelli, Tracy Langkilde, 2017, Hormones and Behavior on p. 115-121

News Articles Featuring Tracy Langkilde

Nov 27, 2024

Heard on Campus: Launch of new center in molecular and cellular sciences, NCEMS

Reception celebrates new NSF-funded National Synthesis Center for Emergence in the Molecular and Cellular Sciences at Penn State.

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Apr 16, 2024

Penn State announces interim executive vice president and provost ahead of national search

Tracy Langkilde has been announced as interim executive vice president and provost of Penn State

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Apr 16, 2024

Tracy Langkilde appointed interim executive vice president and provost

Tracy Langkilde, the Verne M. Willaman Dean of the Eberly College of Science, has been named interim executive vice president and provost of Penn State, effective April 15. Langkilde succeeds Executive Vice President and Provost Justin Schwartz, who has been named as the sole finalist for chancellor of the University of Colorado Boulder and will depart Penn State this summer.

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Feb 15, 2024

Committee advances plan to rename Chemistry Building as 'Benkovic Building'

The Chemistry Building at the University Park campus will be renamed in honor of the careerlong scholarly impact of Stephen Benkovic, Atherton Professor of Chemistry

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Jan 15, 2024

Honors for Booker, Girirajan, Llinás

3 Penn State researchers have received awards and new titles

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Oct 17, 2023

Manuel Llinás named as the Ernest C. Pollard Professor in Biotechnology

Manuel Llinás, distinguished professor of biochemistry and molecular biology and of chemistry in the Penn State Eberly College of Science, has been named the Ernest C. Pollard Professor in Biotechnology.

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Oct 03, 2023

Girirajan named T. Ming Chu Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Santhosh Girirajan, professor and interim head of the Penn State Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, has been named the T. Ming Chu Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

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Jul 06, 2023

Penn State chemist Stephen Benkovic named Atherton Professor

Stephen Benkovic, Evan Pugh Professor and Holder of the Eberly Family Chair in Chemistry at Penn State, has been honored by Penn State with the title of Atherton Professor.

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Apr 07, 2023

These Lizards Stress-Eat When Loud Military Aircraft Fly Overhead

Colorado checkered whiptails on a U.S. Army base show increased stress levels and altered behavior after noisy jets and helicopters pass by, a study finds

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Mar 30, 2023

This lizard species stress-eats to cope with noisy US Army aircraft

Living in a neighborhood with lots of noise can make you jittery, especially if you're a lizard that's just a few inches long. It's no wonder that lizards exposed to noise pollution from low-flying fighter jets have resorted to stress-eating.

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Mar 29, 2023

This lizard species stress-eats to cope with noisy US Army aircraft

Living in a neighborhood with lots of noise can make you jittery, especially if you’re a lizard that’s just a few inches long. It’s no wonder that lizards exposed to noise pollution from low-flying fighter jets have resorted to stress-eating.

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Feb 23, 2023

Nobel Prize-winning Penn State alumnus Paul Berg dies

Penn State alumnus Paul Berg, who received the 1980 Nobel Prize in chemistry, died Feb. 15 at his home in Stanford, California, surrounded by loved ones. He was 96.

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Jan 17, 2023

Crowley receives Huck Early Career Chair appointment

Nikki Crowley, assistant professor of biology and biomedical engineering, has been named the Dorothy Foehr Huck and J. Lloyd Huck Early Career Chair in Neurobiology and Neural Engineering by the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences.

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Nov 29, 2022

Meet the Penn State deans: Tracy Langkilde talks cats, nature — and Vegemite vs. peanut butter

Langkilde was named dean in 2020, but she’s called Happy Valley home for more than a decade. She joined Penn State as an assistant professor in 2007, before becoming head of the biology department in 2016.

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Nov 15, 2022

WATCH: Tracy Langkilde shares perspective on trail running and pursuing passions

In a video series titled “Perspective: Leaders at Penn State,” Tracy Langkilde, Verne M. Willaman Dean of the Eberly College of Science, reflects on her love for trail running as an opportunity to pursue a passion and reach new heights with others.

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Nov 11, 2022

Penn State community grieves loss of biomathematician Howard Weiss

Howard Weiss, professor of biology and mathematics at Penn State, passed away peacefully in his sleep on Nov. 5 at the age of 64.

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Oct 19, 2022

Eating fire ants could prepare lizards for future fire ant attack

Eating fire ants might prepare a lizard’s immune system to be stung by the ants, according to a new study by researchers at Penn State. The study comprehensively assessed how the immune system responds to lizards eating and being stung by these ants and might help researchers understand how other native species respond and adapt to the invasive insects.

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Jul 12, 2022

How Do Animals Know What Their Predators Are?

It’s a quintessential nature documentary scene: An unsuspecting animal — say, a zebra, a lizard or a seal — is spotted by a hungry lion, hawk or shark. Suddenly, the predator attacks, and off they go into a high-speed chase. But how does the prey recognize its foe and understand that it poses a risk?

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Jun 10, 2021

Snapshot USA: First-ever nationwide mammal survey now published

The results of the first national mammal survey, now publicly available online, provide the framework to answer a variety of questions about wild animal populations and conservation strategies for threatened species. The survey, which involved researchers from across the country including a biologist at Penn State, is made up of data from 1,509 motion-activated camera traps from 110 sites located across all 50 states.

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May 14, 2021

Maternal stress during pregnancy may shorten lifespans of male lizard offspring

Mother fence lizards that experience stress during pregnancy give birth to male offspring with shortened telomeres, or bits of non-coding DNA that cap the ends of chromosomes, according to a Penn State-led study.

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Jun 23, 2020

Sunnier but riskier

Conservation efforts that open up the canopy of overgrown habitat for threatened timber rattlesnakes — whose venom is used in anticoagulants and other medical treatments — are beneficial to snakes but could come at a cost, according to a new study by researchers at Penn State and the University of Scranton.

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Jul 25, 2019

Biology professor, department head recognized for study of amphibians, reptiles

Professor of Biology Tracy Langkilde has been named Distinguished Herpetologist for her contributions to the field by the Herpetologists' League, an international organization of people devoted to studying the biology of amphibians and reptiles.

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Jul 23, 2019

Research shows frogs can adapt to traffic noise

Frogs don’t like living near noisy highways any better than people do, but new research suggests that frogs, like hardened city-dwellers, can learn to adapt to the constant din of rumbling trucks, rolling tires and honking horns.

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Apr 24, 2019

Penn State Researchers Discover Lizards Probably Handle Sex And Stress Better Than People

A new study by Penn State researchers shows that stress doesn’t affect the sexiest features of male eastern fence lizards, definitively proving that lizards have their shit together way more than humans do.

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Apr 17, 2019

Research: Features that make lizards appealing to potential mates are resilient to stress

Physical traits and behaviors that make a lizard sexy — features used to attract potential mates and fend off competitors — may be important enough that they do not change in the face of stress. A new study by researchers at Penn State reveals that the blue and black badges on the throats and abdomens of male fence lizards — and signaling behaviors used to show them off — are not affected by low levels of stress-associated hormones, unlike many other traits.

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