Meet the Principal Investigator
Gary Burness, PhD
I am an ecological and evolutionary physiologist. My research focuses on animal energetics, particularly how animals allocate energy among the competing demands of metabolism, immunity, growth and reproduction. Because all living organisms use energy, students in our lab work with various species, from birds to fish to mammals, depending on the research question of interest.
Current lab members
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Taylor Brown, PhD Candidate
Taylor completed her BSc (Hons) at Acadia University and her MSc. at York University. She is interested in the factors that cause the stranding of fledgling seabirds each year in coastal communities. Her current research takes place in Newfoundland where she is working on both Atlantic puffins and Leach’s Storm Petrels. This research is conducted in collaboration with Environment and Climate Change Canada and the Toronto Zoo.
Personal website
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Megan Heft, PhD Candidate
Megan completed her BS (Hons) at Kalamazoo College in Michigan. She is interested in the interaction between artificial light at night and temperature regulation in birds. Currently, she is working with nest-box breeding tree swallows
Personal website
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Kayla Martin, MSc Student
Kayla completed her BSc (Hons) at the University of Guelph. She studies roost choice in wild turkeys, and is testing whether turkeys choose roosts based on tree microclimate. Kayla is co-supervised by Dr. Jeff Bowman of the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry.
Personal website
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Emma Byers, MSc student
Emma completed her BSc (Hons) at Trent University, where she worked on avian window-strikes. Her MSc thesis research focusses on Monarch butterflies. Emma is co-supervised by Dr. Sarah Jamieson (Department of Biology).