Donald R Powers

Donald R Powers

Feb 02, 2017

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Southwestern Research Station (Our Study Site)

Our proposed project will be done at the Southwestern Research Station (SWRS) located in the Chiricahua Mountains of southeastern Arizona.  SWRS is a research facility owned and operated by the American Museum of Natural History in New York, NY.  Not only is SWRS a beautiful place, it is an ideal location to do physiological studies of hummingbirds!  There are large, well-equipped laboratories that are perfect for conducting controlled experiments.  In addition, there are vast spaces for outdoor field studies.  Finally, most importantly, an abundance of hummingbirds that exhibit different foraging strategies.

Your first view as you enter the Chiricahua Mountains on the way to SWRS.

Former undergraduate research students Sara Nutter and Mimi Camacho preparing for all-night measurements of torpor metabolism at SWRS.

Former undergraduate research students Nathan Weston and Elizah Stephens gathering data on the link between poorly maintained feeders and microbial infections in hummingbirds.

Sara Nutter collecting a blue-throated hummingbird she just trapped at SWRS!

A magnificent hummingbird about to be released after generously giving us some data!

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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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