Dr Steve Portugal, Animal Behaviour and Physiology

PhD Jenny Cantlay is busy at the dive tank facility in Patuxent, working with some fantastic diving duck species (photos by Jenny).

We’ve had a paper accepted in Biology Letters, all about the energetics of moulting in barnacle geese (goose photo; Trevor Gunby). 

Our paper, “The origin and maintenance of metabolic allometry: genetic constraint, random evolution, and multivariate selection” has been accepted in Nature Ecology and Evolution. This work was very much conceived and led by Prof Craig White at Monash University, and a big thank you Craig for inviting me to be part of the work.

Exciting day as the new aviaries are being built. Thank you to the Royal Society for the Research Grant that is allowing all these facilities to be built.

Jenny and Steph are off to the field, to Maryland and Zambia, respectively. Studies on the responses of diving ducks to gillnet deterrents, and the metabolics of embryo development in honeyguides. Huge thanks to our collaborators Alicia Berlin, Alex Bond, Luke McClean and Claire Spottiswoode.

Stephanie McClelland

Jenny Cantlay

Delighted to welcome new PhD students Jack Thirkell and Cecylia Watrobska to the lab. Jack will be studying life in low oxygen environments, with focal species Siamese Fighting Fish and Mole Rats, and Cecylia will be working on the energetic costs of learning (with Elli Leadbeater).

Jack Thirkell

Sad to wave goodbye to pigeon whisperer Lara, as her project finishes off. Thankfully Lara has a new position in the Department, so it’s not really goodbye.