Powers Research Lab

The lab is pleased to welcome three new research students who have joined the team for the coming year.

Luke working with the lab's FoxBox oxygen analyzer.

Luke Andrew is a sophomore biology major from Enumclaw, WA who will be working on various projects examining hummingbird response to climate change (funded by NASA).For the next year most of Luke’s work will be focused on developing protocols for measuring field energetics that can be used in the field.  Luke’s first task will be to develop a reliable technique for collecting urine samples from hummingbirds that can be used as a body-water source for doubly-labeled water analysis which is used to measure field metabolic rate.  Luke’s work this next will be funded by the Richter Scholar Program here at George Fox University.

Katie getting ready to do some high-speed video.

Katie Langland is a junior biology major from Redmond, OR who will split her time between two lab projects.  She will conduct a study on the role female body temperature plays in courtship decisions made by male red-sided garter snakes (Thamnophis sirtalis parietals) in Manitoba, Canada.  Katie will also take charge of developing protocols for measurement of nighttime body temperatures in hummingbird using the lab’s new FLIR SC6700 Infrared Camera.

Elliott taking care of our salamanders.

Finally, Elliott Davis, a junior biology major from Canby, Or, will continue work done in the lab the past several years on thedistribution  and regulation of aquaporin water channels in the ventral skin of rough-skinned newts (Taricha granulosa).  Elliott will continue to explore how localized distribution of aquaporins 1-4 change in newts acclimated to aquatic vs. terrestrial conditions.  Further, we have acquired some Plethodontid salamanders (Plethodon shermanii) that will allow Elliott to explore differences in aquaporin management in a primarily aquatic (Taricha) vs. exclusively terrestrial (Plethodon) species.  Elliott will also be funded by the Richter Scholar Program.

Paige presenting snake data.

Last week the lab travels to Charleston, SC for the 2012 SICB meeting.  Don Powers presented a paper titled “Courtship Metabolic Rate in Male vs. Female Red-Sided Gater Snakes” providing an overview of some of the work the lab had done in Manitoba the past several years.  Paige Copenhaver, who graduated this spring, presented a poster on the work she did this past summer on the metabolic cost of copulatory plug production in male red-sided garter snakes as well as a poster on thermal preferences and metabolic rate in rough-skinned newts.  Kyle Maki presented a poster on heat dissipation in calliope hummingbirds as measured by infrared thermography using data collected last summer at the University of Montana as part of the lab’s collaboration with Dr. Bret Tobalske.

Kyle presenting her hummingbird Poster

Both Paige and Kyle took full advantage of their opportunity to attend their first national meeting attending numerous papers and interacting with many established scientists while presenting their posters.  All three posters were well attended and both students did a wonderful job explaining the details of the project and addressing questions.  both student’s performance is a testament to the quality research experiences provided to undergraduates here at GFU.  Towards the end of the meeting the lab took a little time off to enjoy historic Charleston and do a little bird watching.

Below is a selection of photos taken during the trip.  To see all trip photos go to the Flickr photo gallery.

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A study on respiratory evaporative water loss during forward and hover flight in hummingbirds has been published in the journal Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology, Part A.  The study which was conducted both at field sites in Arizona and in the laboratory at the University of Portland describes the impact of respiratory evaporation on overall water balance during flight and the role it plays in thermoregulation.  This study is particularly interesting because hummingbirds are among the smallest of endothermic vertebrates and as such have extremely high metabolic rates.  High metabolic rates generally trend towards substantial respiratory evaporative water loss (REWL) which could severely hinder these bird’s ability to maintain water balance.  However, because hummingbirds have an unusually high rate of water intake due to their nectar diet REWL has an unusually low impact on the hummingbird’s water budget.

Phil Getsinger

Phil Getsinger and Sean Powers, former students in the Powers lab,
played prominent roles in collecting the data for this project and are coauthors on the paper.  This study also involved a primary collaborator with the Powers lab, Bret Tobalske, who at the time of data collection was at the University of Portland and is not at the University of Montana.

Download this publication.

The Powers lab has purchased a FLIR SC6700 infrared (IR) camera.  The camera is the first piece of equipment purchased with NASA-grant funding.  The SC6700 is a high-speed high-resolution camera built using the best technology available.  For the NASA project the SC6700 will be used to track nighttime changes in body-surface temperature to monitor frequency and duration of torpor use.  The lab also plans to use the SC6700 this spring to study body-temperature effects on female attractiveness in red-sided garter snakes.

The lab was first introduced to IR cameras two years ago during our work with Dr. Bret Tobalske at the University of Montana.  Over the past two years the lab has conducted a study in which we examined heat dissipation during hovering and forward flight in hummingbirds (see image below).  The bulk of these data were gathered as part of Kyle Maki’s project.

Paige holding a red-sided garter snake

Several members of the Powers lab will once again travel to the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology meeting to be held in Charleston, SC January 3-7.  Paige Copenhaver will present two posters.  The first will cover our data on the energetic cost of copulatory plug production in small vs. large male red-sided garter snakes  (Thamnophis sirtalis parietals) and the second thermal tolerances in free-living rough-skinned news (Taricha granulosa).  Paige will be the first research student ever in my lab to present two studies in a single meeting.

Kyle collection DPIV data

Also Kyle Maki will present our study on heat dissipation during flight in Calliope hummingbirds (Stellula calliope).  In this study we identify the major regions of heat dissipation from body surfaces during flight using high-quality infrared video imaging.

Finally, I will be presenting an oral paper on the energetic cost of reproduction in male vs. female red-sided garter snakes.  This will actually be the first paper I have presented on reptiles and represents the culmination of 4+ years of work.