SICB in Atlanta
SICB has long been my favorite professional meeting.
Animal energetics & physiology
Studies in animal energetics
Don Powers, Ph.D. — retired biologist, still active in research on hummingbird heat balance and the physiology of laying hens. Four decades of work on how animals manage energy, heat, and water.
Current research
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Body-temperature management during flight
How birds manage the extra heat generated by their flight muscles — and what that thermal load might mean for their response to climate change.
Hummingbird foraging energetics and ecology
How hummingbirds balance daily energy budgets against the high metabolic costs of hovering — and how dilute nectar can still meet those energetic demands.
Regulation of hummingbird torpor
How the frequency, duration, and depth of nocturnal torpor vary with social strategy — and the molecular mechanisms behind entering and arousing from it.
Physiological impact of keel bone fractures in laying hens
As laying hens move from caged to free-roaming housing, keel bone fractures are increasingly common — we study their impact on energy costs and egg production.
Recent updates
All updates →Calliope Hummingbird Energetics in Montana
I was back for another field season at the University of Montana with my long-time collaborator Bret Tobalske.
SICB in Seattle
This year the SICB meeting was held in Seattle, WA. The meeting was different this year in that it was the first time I attended without students.
Mentoring undergraduate researchers
More →Students who took positions in my lab took ownership of entire projects rather than specific experiments, so they gained valuable experience in all facets of basic research.
Where are they now?
Paige (Copenhaver) Parry, Ph.D.
GFU Class of 2012 — Ph.D., University of Wyoming; J. Exp. Biol. 218:1410–1418 (2015)
Rosalee Elting
Ph.D. candidate, University of Montana; lead author, Funct. Ecol. 40:1475–1490 (2026)
Keely (Corder) Luongo, Ph.D.
GFU Class of 2011 — Ph.D., University of Montana; R. Soc. Open Sci. 2:150598 (2015)
Noemi (Camacho) Soveral
GFU Class of 2016 — Supervisor, OHSU Primate Research Center; J. Therm. Biol. 112:103391 (2023)