Donald R Powers

Donald R Powers

Mar 01, 2017

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Undergraduate Research Experiences Are Critical!!

This note does note relate directly to the current project proposal, but is important because it gives emphasis to the importance of promoting opportunities for undergraduates to do real research.  I cannot emphasize enough just how important good research experiences are in the development of undergraduates on their road to becoming well-trained professionals.  This is true even if the student enters a medical profession rather than basic science.

Many undergraduates that have previously worked in the Powers Lab have gone on to become basic scientists.  The value of an undergraduate experience is probably obvious in this case as it represents an opportunity to gain practical experience in their chosen profession.  One example would Paige (Copenhaver) Parry who worked in the lab in 2011 before going on to the University of Wyoming to earn her Ph.D. in Ecology.  She is now a new assistant professor at George Fox University and is leading the way in adding quantitative and statistical content to our curriculum.  Paige co-authored a 2015 publication based on her work as an undergraduate entitled "Size dependence in non-sperm ejaculate production is reflected in daily energy expenditure and resting metabolic rate."

Dr. Paige Parry, when she was an undergraduate in the Powers Lab back in 2011, studying reproductive energetics of red-sided garter snakes in Manitoba, Canada.

Respiratory evaporative water loss during hovering and forward flight in hummingbirds

Dr. Phil Getsinger collecting data on hovering metabolic rate and respiratory evaporation in hummingbirds in Arizona back in 2005.


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About This Project

When hummingbirds use more energy than they consume, they use deep hypothermia (torpor) at night to lower energy costs. Torpor is not restorative like sleep so extended use can have physiological consequences. Our field work suggests hummingbirds might be capable of controlled shallow hypothermia. This would be a novel tool for periods of low energy intake. We will use thermal imaging to track nighttime body temperature to see if hummingbirds use the more restorative shallow hypothermia.

Blast off!

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