• PhD: Allonursing in the cooperatively breeding meerkat
  University of Cambridge, 2011–2014
• BSc: Zoology
  University of St. Andrews, 2005–2009

I am a behavioural ecologist interested in the links between animal behaviour, life history and physiology, and how individuals interact with each other and their environment, primarily (but not exclusively!) in reptiles.

These interests cover a broad range of topics, from predator-prey interactions, to anthropogenic noise disturbance, to ecophysiology, and reproductive and breeding system ecology.

Currently, my research is focusing on the intersection of a few major themes:

• environmental change - particularly winter warming - and how this impacts reptile behaviour, physiology, and population dynamics
• the role of stress in wild animals
• maternal effects - how a mother's environment influences the phenotype of her offspring
• the drivers and consequences of social and prosocial behaviour

For more info, see my personal/lab webpage.

I am willing to supervise a PhD

2023

• PublishedStress in the social context: a behavioural and eco-evolutionary perspective
  MacLeod, K., English, S., Ruuskanen, S. & Taborsky, B., 1 Aug 2023, In: Journal of Experimental Biology. 226, 15, jeb245829.
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review

2022

• PublishedA quantitative synthesis of and predictive framework for studying winter warming effects in reptiles
  Moss, J. & MacLeod, K., 1 Oct 2022, In: Oecologia. 200, p. 259-271 13 p.
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
• PublishedContext-dependent effects of glucocorticoids on the lizard gut microbiome
  MacLeod, K. J., Kohl, K. D., Trevelline, B. K. & Langkilde, T., 1 Jan 2022, In: Molecular Ecology. 31, 1, p. 185-196
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
• PublishedGas compressor noise does not influence tree swallow nestling condition or immune response
  MacLeod, K., Naugle, L., Brittingham, M. & Avery, J., Sept 2022, In: Journal of Zoology. 318, 1, p. 1-9
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
• PublishedPredator-induced transgenerational plasticity in animals: a meta-analysis
  MacLeod, K., Monestier, C., Ferrari, M., McGhee, K., Sheriff, M. & Bell, A., 1 Dec 2022, In: Oecologia. 200, 3-4, p. 371-383 13 p.
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

2021

• PublishedCompensating for a stressful pregnancy? Glucocorticoid treatment during gravidity reduces metabolic rate in female fence lizards post-parturition
  MacLeod, K. J., Langkilde, T., Heppner, J. J., Howey, C. A. F., Sprayberry, K., Tylan, C. & Sheriff, M. J., 1 Nov 2021, In: Hormones and Behavior. 136
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
• PublishedThe influence of maternal glucocorticoids on offspring phenotype in high- and low-risk environments
  MacLeod, K. J., Langkilde, T., Venable, C. P., Ensminger, D. C. & Sheriff, M. J., 1 Nov 2021, In: Behavioral Ecology. 32, 6, p. 1330-1338
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
• PublishedViviparous mothers impose stronger glucocorticoid-mediated maternal stress effects on their offspring than oviparous mothers
  MacLeod, K. J., While, G. M. & Uller, T., 1 Dec 2021, In: Ecology and Evolution. 11, 23, p. 17238-17259
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

2020

• PublishedAcademic ecosystems must evolve to support a sustainable postdoc workforce
  Alund, M., Emery, N., Jarrett, B. J. M., MacLeod, K. J., McCreery, H. F., Mamoozadeh, N., Phillips, J. G., Schossau, J., Thompson, A. W., Warwick, A. R., Yule, K. M., Zylstra, E. R. & Gering, E., 1 Jun 2020, In: Nature Ecology and Evolution. 4, 6, p. 777-781
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

2019

• PublishedGestation alters the gut microbiota of an oviparous lizard
  Trevelline, B. K., MacLeod, K. J., Langkilde, T. & Kohl, K. D., 1 Jul 2019, In: Fems Microbiology Ecology. 95, 7
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
• PublishedGlucocorticoids do not influence a secondary sexual trait or its behavioral expression in eastern fence lizards
  MacLeod, K. J., McCormick, G. L. & Langkilde, T., 26 Mar 2019, In: Scientific Reports. 9
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
• PublishedHistory of predator exposure affects cell-mediated immunity in female eastern fence lizards, Sceloporus undulatus (Squamata: Phrynosomatidae)
  Sprayberry, K., Tylan, C., Owen, D. A. S., Macleod, K. J., Sheriff, M. J. & Langkilde, T., 1 Dec 2019, In: BIOLOGICAL JOURNAL OF THE LINNEAN SOCIETY. 128, 4, p. 944-951
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
• PublishedMaternal corticosterone increases thermal sensitivity of heart rate in lizard embryos
  Owen, D. A. S., Sheriff, M. J., Heppner, J. J., Gerke, H., Ensminger, D. C., MacLeod, K. J. & Langkilde, T., 31 Jan 2019, In: Biology letters. 15, 1
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
• PublishedThe effect of novel and familiar predator cues on prey vigilance and foraging behaviors in the greater khingan mountains, Inner Mongolia, China
  Mpemba, H., Fan, Y., MacLeod, K. J., Wen, D. & Jiang, G., 26 Aug 2019, In: Applied Ecology and Environmental Research. 17, 4, p. 8219-8234
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
• PublishedTree selection is linked to locomotor performance and associated noise production in a lizard
  MacLeod, K. J., Freidenfelds, N. A., Leighton, G. M. & Langkilde, T., 1 Mar 2019, In: Journal of Zoology. 307, 3, p. 195-202
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

2018

• PublishedFear and lethality in snowshoe hares: the deadly effects of non-consumptive predation risk
  MacLeod, K. J., Krebs, C. J., Boonstra, R. & Sheriff, M. J., 1 Mar 2018, In: Oikos. 127, 3, p. 375-380
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
• PublishedIn ovo microbial communities: a potential mechanism for the initial acquisition of gut microbiota among oviparous birds and lizards
  Trevelline, B. K., MacLeod, K. J., Knutie, S. A., Langkilde, T. & Kohl, K. D., 31 Jul 2018, In: Biology letters. 14, 7
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
• PublishedMaternal stress alters the phenotype of the mother, her eggs and her offspring in a wild-caught lizard
  Ensminger, D. C., Langkilde, T., Owen, D. A. S., MacLeod, K. J. & Sheriff, M. J., 1 Nov 2018, In: Journal of Animal Ecology. 87, 6, p. 1685-1697
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
• PublishedSocial context-dependent provisioning rules in red-winged fairy-wrens do not vary with signals of increased chick need
  MacLeod, K. J. & Brouwer, L., 1 Sept 2018, In: Animal Behaviour. 143, p. 105-111
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
• PublishedSurvival and reproductive costs of repeated acute glucocorticoid elevations in a captive, wild animal
  MacLeod, K. J., Sheriff, M. J., Ensminger, D. C., Owen, D. A. S. & Langkilde, T., 1 Nov 2018, In: General and Comparative Endocrinology. 268, p. 1-6
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

2017

• PublishedDo mothers bias offspring sex ratios in carotenoid-rich environments?
  MacLeod, K. J., Brekke, P., Tong, W., Ewen, J. G. & Thorogood, R., 1 Jan 2017, In: Behavioral Ecology. 28, 1, p. 131-137
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
• PublishedIntegrating Ecological and Evolutionary Context in the Study of Maternal Stress
  Sheriff, M. J., Bell, A., Boonstra, R., Dantzer, B., Lavergne, S. G., McGhee, K. E., MacLeod, K. J., Winandy, L., Zimmer, C. & Love, O. P., 1 Sept 2017, In: Integrative and Comparative Biology. 57, 3, p. 437-449
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

2016

• PublishedMinutes matter: brief hatching asynchrony adversely affects late-hatched hihi nestlings, but not life beyond the nest
  MacLeod, K. J., Brekke, P., Ewen, J. G. & Thorogood, R., 1 Sept 2016, In: Animal Behaviour. 119, p. 111-118
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

2015

• PublishedLow costs of allonursing in meerkats: mitigation by behavioral change?
  MacLeod, K. J. & Clutton-Brock, T. H., 1 May 2015, In: Behavioral Ecology. 26, 3, p. 697-705
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
• PublishedNo apparent benefits of allonursing for recipient offspring and mothers in the cooperatively breeding meerkat
  MacLeod, K. J., McGhee, K. E. & Clutton-Brock, T. H., 1 Jul 2015, In: Journal of Animal Ecology. 84, 4, p. 1050-1058
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

2014

• PublishedJunior scientists are sceptical of sceptics of open access: a reply to Agrawal
  Carter, A. J., Horrocks, N. P. C., Huchard, E., Logan, C. J., Lukas, D., MacLeod, K. J., Marshall, H. H., Peck, H. L., Sanderson, J. L. & Sorensen, M. C., 1 Jun 2014, In: TRENDS IN PLANT SCIENCE. 19, 6, p. 339-340
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Letter › peer-review
• PublishedRevisiting non-offspring nursing: allonursing evolves when the costs are low
  MacLeod, K. J. & Lukas, D., 30 Jun 2014, In: Biology letters. 10, 6
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

2013

• PublishedFactors predicting the frequency, likelihood and duration of allonursing in the cooperatively breeding meerkat
  MacLeod, K. J., Nielsen, J. F. & Clutton-Brock, T. H., 1 Nov 2013, In: Animal Behaviour. 86, 5, p. 1059-1067
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
• PublishedNo evidence for adaptive sex ratio variation in the cooperatively breeding meerkat, Suricata suricatta
  MacLeod, K. J. & Clutton-Brock, T. H., Mar 2013, In: Animal Behaviour. 85, 3, p. 645-653
  Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

2024

• Pool frog genetics - MRes

  18 Dec 2024

  Activity: Examination (Examiner)

Marie Skłodowska Curie Actions Research Fellow, Lund University 2019 - 2022

Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Pennsylvania State University 2016 - 2019

Research Associate, University of Cambridge 2014 - 2016