Digital Commons Network^™

Hummingbirds Budget Energy Flexibly In Response To Changing Resources, Anusha Shankar, Catherine H. Graham, Joseph R. Canepa, Susan M. Wethington, Don Powers

Faculty Publications - Department of Biological & Molecular Science

1. A key component of individual fitness is the ability to manage energy stores in response to variable resource availability, but because directly measuring energy budgets is difficult, daily energy management is rarely measured.
2. Hummingbirds' energy management is relatively simple to model compared to other endotherms because they have high mass‐specific metabolic rates and store little fat.
3. We determined which aspects of the hummingbird daily energy budget (i.e. thermoregulation, daytime activity costs, night‐time costs) change at the individual level in response to environmental variation.
4. We found that daily energy expenditure varied threefold in two populations of broad‐billed hummingbirds (Cynanthus latirostris …

Living On The Edge: Thermophysiology Of The Southern Flying Squirrel At Its Northern Range Margin, Vanessa R. Hensley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Climate change has the potential to upset entire ecological systems, making predictive models of the utmost importance. The incorporation of physiological parameters into predictive models not only bolsters their accuracy but also provides a mechanistic explanation for ecological changes already observed and those yet to come. North American flying squirrels, for example, have already experienced dramatic range shifts northward over recent decades, with climate change being the suspected driver. While other studies have focused on warming winter temperatures, I explored the hypothesis that rising summer temperatures were driving the observed range shifts. Unable to find a reliable population of the …

Manipulating Neck Temperatures Alters Contagious Yawning In Humans, Valentina Ramirez, Colleen P. Ryan, Omar Tonsi Eldakar, Andrew C. Gallup

Biology Faculty Articles

The existence of yawning across a diverse array of species has led many researchers to postulate its neurological significance. One hypothesis, which has garnered recent support, posits that yawns function to cool the brain by flushing hyperthermic blood away from the skull while simultaneously introducing a cooler arterial supply. The current study tested this hypothesis by examining how manipulations aimed at modifying carotid artery temperature, which in turn directly alters cranial temperature, influences contagious yawning in humans. Participants held either a warm (46 °C), cold (4 °C) or room temperature (22 °C) pack firmly to their neck, just over their …

Thermal Safety Of Childrens Outdoor Play Equipment, Adam Gyori

Spring Showcase for Research and Creative Inquiry

A literature review looking into the newer field of research in the thermal regulation of children’s outdoor play equipment and its effects it may be causing to the health of children.

Fire And Blood: Behavior And Thermoregulation In Small Nocturnal Mammals, Tal Kleinhause-Goldman Gedalyahou

Honors College

As global temperatures continue to increase, so does the need to better assess the sensitivity of different species to climate change. Such assessments require accurate behavioral and physiological data, including on thermoregulation and the effects of high temperatures on the behavior of endotherms. Seeking to improve current knowledge and methodology, my research evaluated the connections between activity and thermoregulation, using deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) as a species model. By using a custom made maze, I was able to simulate an active foraging environment and examine both activity patterns and subcutaneous temperatures in mice during the active-phase of their …

Melanism As A Potential Thermal Benefit In Eastern Fox Squirrels (Sciurus Niger), Amanda K. Ciurej, Ashley Oblander, Andrew W. Swift, James A. Wilson

United States Fish and Wildlife: Staff Publications

Melanistic fox squirrels (Sciurus niger) have expanded westward and increased in frequency in the Omaha, Nebraska, and Council Bluffs, Iowa, metropolitan areas. The selective advantage of melanism is currently unknown, but thermal advantages have been hypothesized, especially in winter. No difference in metabolic response curves were measured between melanistic (black) and rufus (orange) fox squirrels. When exposed to sunny skies, both melanistic and rufus squirrels had higher surface (skin and fur) temperature as ambient temperatures increased. Melanistic squirrel surface temperatures did not differ when squirrels were exposed to sunny or cloudy skies. However, rufus individuals showed significantly lower …