Publications
2023
Penick CA, Boradkar P. Design inspired by nature: The bat brolley, in Design and Science. Atzmon L (ed.), Bloomsbury Publishing: London [link]
2022
Gardner N, Hellenbrand JP, Phan A, Zhu H, Long Z, Wang M, Penick CA, Hung CC. Investigation of ant cuticle dataset using image texture analysis methods. Applied Computing and Intelligence [pdf]
Benyus J, Dwyer J, El-Sayed S, Hayes S, Baumeister D, Penick CA. Ecological performance standards for regenerative urban design. Sustainability Science [pdf]
Penick CA, Cope G, Morankar S, Mistry Y, Grishin Y, Chawla N, Bhate D. The comparative approach to bio-inspired design: integrating biodiversity and biologists into the design process. Integrative and Comparative Biology icac097 [pdf]
Morankar S, Singaravelu A, Niverty S, Penick CA, Bhate D, Chawla N. Tensile and fracture behavior of silica fibers from the Venus flower basket (Euplectella aspergillum). International Journal of Solids and Structures [pdf]
Rajeev A, Grishin A, Agrawal V, Santhanam B, Goss D, Niverty S, Cope G, Penick CA, Chawla N, Bhate D. Parametric optimization of corner radius in hexagonal honeycombs under in-plane compression. Manufacturing Letters [pdf]
Goss D, Penick CA, Grishin A, Bhate D. Bio-Inspired design and additive manufacturing of cellular materials for aerospace applications. in Biomimicry for Aerospace Help AF, Eggermont M, Shyam V (eds.), Elsevier: Amsterdam [pdf]
2021
Vecchi M, Kossi Adakpo L, Dunn RR, Nichols LM, Penick CA, Sanders NJ, Rebecchi L, Guidetti R. The toughest animals of the Earth vs global warming: effects of long-term experimental warming on tardigrade community structure of a temperate deciduous forest. Ecology and Evolution 11:9856-9863 [pdf]
Penick CA, Ghaninia M, Haight KL, Opachaloemphan C, Yan H, Reinberg D, Liebig J. Reversible plasticity in brain size, behavior, and physiology characterizes caste transitions in a socially flexible ant (Harpegnathos saltator). Proceedings of the Royal Society B 288:20210141 [pdf]
*Covered by New York Times, The Atlantic, National Geographic, NPR, & Nature
Fitzgerald JL, Stuble KL, Nichols LM, Diamond SE, Wentworth TR, Pelini SL, Ellison AM, Gotelli J, Sanders NJ, Dunn RR, Penick CA. Abundance of spring- and winter-active arthropods declines with warming. Ecosphere 12:e03473 [pdf]
Penick CA. Book review: Tales from the Ant World by E.O. Wilson. American Entomologist. 67:62-63 [pdf]
Penick CA. Urban social insects, in Encyclopedia of Social Insects, Starr CK (ed.), Springer: New York [pdf]
2020
Goss D, Mistry Y, Niverty S, Noe C, Santhanam B, Ozturk C, Penick CA, Lee C, Chawla N, Grishin A, Shyam V, Bhate D. Bioinspired honeycomb core design: An experimental study of the role of corner radius, coping and interface. Biomimetics 5:59 [pdf]
2019
Lucas J, Madden AA, Penick CA, Epps MJ, Marting PR, Stevens JL, Fergus DJ, Dunn RR, Meineke EK (2019) Azteca ants maintain unique microbiomes across functionally distinct nest chambers. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 286 [pdf]
Bhate D, Penick CA, Ferry LA, Lee C (2019) Classification and selection of cellular materials in mechanical design: Engineering and biomimetic approaches. Designs 3:19 [pdf]
Fehler M, Penick CA (2019) Hidden treasures: Discovering the design potential of natural history collections. The Design Journal 22(sup1):2189-2195 [pdf]
Lau MK, Ellison AM, Nguyen AD, Penick CA, DeMarco BB, Gotelli NJ, Sanders NJ, Dunn RR, Cahan SH (2019) Expanded view of the ecological genomics of ant responses to climate change. PeerJ 7:e6447 [pdf]
2018
Ellison AM, LeRoy CJ, Landesbergen KJ, Bosanquet E, Borden DB, CaraDonna P, Cheney K, Crystal-Ornelas R, DeFreece A, Goralnik L, Irons E, Merkle BG, O’Connell KEB, Penick CA, Rustad L, Schulze M, Waser NM, Wysong L (2018) Art/Science collaborations: New explorations of ecological systems, values, and their feedbacks. Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America 99:180-191 [pdf]
Beasley DE, Penick CA, Boateng NS, Menninger HL, Dunn RR (2018) Urbanization disrupts latitude-size rule in 17-year cicadas. Ecology and Evolution 8:2534-254 [pdf]
Penick CA, Halawani O, Pearson B, Mathews S, López-Uribe MM, Dunn RR, Smith AA (2018) External immunity in ant societies: Sociality and colony size do not predict investment in antimicrobials. Royal Society Open Science 5:171332 [pdf]
*Covered by PBS, Huffpost, The Sun, & Discover Magazine
Epps MJ, Penick CA (2018) Facultative mushroom feeding by common woodland ants (Formicidae, Aphaenogaster spp.). Food Webs 14:9-13 [pdf]
2017
Gospocic J, Shields E, Glastad KM, Lin Y, Penick CA, Yan H, Mikheyev A, Linksvayer T, Garcia BA, Berger S, Liebig J, Reinberg D, Bonasio R (2017) The neuropeptide corazonin controls social behavior and caste identity in ants. Cell 170: 748-759 [pdf]
Yan H, Opachaloemphan C, Mancini G, Yang H, Gallitto M, Mlejnek J, Haight K, Ghaninia M, Huo L, Perry M, Leibholz L, Slone J, Zhou X, Traficante M, Penick CA, Dolezal K, Gokhale K, Stevens K, Fetter-Pruneda I, Bonasio R, Zwiebel LJ, Berger S, Liebig J, Reinberg D, Desplan C (2017) An engineered orco mutation produces aberrant social behavior and defective neural development in ants. Cell 170:736-747 [pdf]
*Covered by Nature & Daily Mail
MacClean HJ, Penick CA, Dunn RR, Diamond SE (2017) Experimental winter warming increases thermal performance and primes species for spring activity. Journal of Insect Physiology 100:77-81 [pdf]
Penick CA, Liebig J (2017) A larval ‘princess pheromone’ identifies future ant queens based on their juvenile hormone content. Animal Behaviour 128:33-40 [pdf]
*Covered by Gizmodo
Diamond SE, Chick L, Penick CA, Nichols LM, Cahan SH, Dunn RR, Ellison AM, Sanders NJ, Gotelli NJ (2017) Heat tolerance predicts the importance of species interaction effects as the climate changes. Integrative and Comparative Biology 57:112-120 [pdf]
Penick CA, Diamond SE, Sanders NJ, Dunn RR (2017) Beyond thermal limits: Comprehensive metrics of performance identify key axes of thermal adaptation in ants. Functional Ecology 31: 1091-1100 [pdf]
Cahan SH, Nguyen AD, Stanton-Geddes J, Penick CA, Hernáiz-Hernández Y, DeMarco BB, Gotelli NJ (2017) Modulation of the heat shock response is associated with acclimation to novel temperatures but not adaptation to climatic variation in the ants Aphaenogaster picea and A. rudis. Comparative Biochemistry & Physiology A 204:113-120 [pdf]
2016
Diamond SE, Nichols LM, Pelini SL, Penick CA, Barber GW, Cahan SH, Dunn RR, Ellison AM, Sanders NJ, Gotelli NJ (2016) Climatic warming destabilizes forest ant communities. Science Advances 2:e1600842 [pdf]
Karlik J, Epps MJ, Dunn RR, Penick CA (2016) Life inside an acorn: How microclimate and microbes influence nest organization in Temnothorax ants. Ethology 122:790-797 [pdf]
Brent CS, Penick CA, Trobaugh B, Moore D, Liebig J (2016) Induction of a reproductive-specific cuticular hydrocarbon pattern by juvenile hormone in the termite Zootermopsis nevadensis. Chemoecology 26:195-203 [pdf]
Penick CA, Crofton CA, Appler RH, Frank SD, Dunn RR, Tarpy DR (2016) The contribution of human foods to honey bee diets in a mid-sized metropolis. Journal of Urban Ecology 2:juw001 [pdf]
*Covered by The New York Times, Newsweek, & NPR
Sasaki T, Penick CA [co-first authors], Shaffer Z, Haight KL, Pratt SC, Liebig J (2016) A simple behavioral model predicts the emergence of complex animal hierarchies. The American Naturalist 187:765-775 [pdf]
*Covered by Discover Magazine
2015
Penick CA, Smith AA (2015) The true odor of the odorous house ant. American Entomologist 61:85-87 [pdf]
*Covered by WIRED, Scientific American, Daily Kos, & NPR Science Friday
Penick CA, Savage AM, Dunn RR (2015) Stable isotopes reveal links between human food inputs and urban ant diets. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 282:20142608 [pdf]
*Covered by The Guardian, Fast Company, TIME, & Mental Floss
2014 & before
Penick CA, Brent CS, Dolezal K, Liebig J (2014) Neurohormonal changes associated with ritualized combat and the formation of a reproductive hierarchy in the ant Harpegnathos saltator. Journal of Experimental Biology 217:1496-1503 [pdf]
*Covered by The New York Times, CBC Quirks & Quarks, Science, & Reuters
Penick CA, Ebie J, Moore D (2014) A non-destructive method for identifying the sex of ant larvae. Insectes Sociaux 61:51-55 [pdf]
Diamond SE, Penick CA, Pelini SL, Ellison AM, Gotelli NJ, Sanders NJ, Dunn RR (2013) Using physiology to predict the responses of ants to climatic warming. Integrative and Comparative Biology 53:965-974 [pdf]
Penick CA, Trobaugh B, Brent CS, Liebig J (2013) Head-butting as an early indicator of reproductive disinhibition in the termite Zootermopsis nevadensis. Journal of Insect Behavior 26:23-34 [pdf]
Penick CA, Liebig J (2012) Regulation of queen development through worker aggression in a predatory ant. Behavioral Ecology 23:992-998 [pdf]
Penick CA, Copple RN, Mendez RA, Smith AA (2012) The role of anchor-tipped larval hairs in the organization of ant colonies. PLOS One 7: e41595 [pdf]
*Covered by Myrmecos & Buzz Hoot Roar
Penick CA, Prager SS, Liebig J (2012) Juvenile hormone induces queen development in late-stage larvae of the ant Harpegnathos saltator. Journal of Insect Physiology 58:1643-1649 [pdf]
Penick CA, Liebig J, Brent CS (2011) Reproduction, dominance, and caste: Endocrine profiles of queens and workers of the ant Harpegnathos saltator. Journal of Comparative Physiology A 197:1063-1071 [pdf]
Holbrook CT, Clark RM, Moore D, Overson RP, Penick CA, Smith AA (2010) Social insects inspire human design. Biology Letters 6:431-433 [pdf]
Penick CA, Tschinkel WR (2008) Thermoregulatory brood transport in the fire ant, Solenopsis invicta. Insectes Sociaux 55:176-182 [pdf]
