Gary Burness
Professor
- B.Sc. (Memorial)
- M.Sc. (Brock)
- Ph.D. (University of British Columbia)
Office: LHS C252
Phone: 705-748-1011 ext. 7288
Email: garyburness@trentu.ca
Twitter: @GaryBurness
Research interests
- Ecological and evolutionary physiology
- Animal energetics
- Metabolism
My research is at the interface of physiology, ecology and evolution. I use a combination of field-work and laboratory studies to understand how energetic trade-offs influence reproductive fitness. I am particularly interested in the links among an animal’s metabolic rate, life-history strategy, and response to environmental stress.
Teaching
BIOL 1030H: Foundations in Cell and Molecular Biology
BIOL 3830H: Animal Physiology I
BIOL 3840H: Animal Physiology II
Selected publications
*Indicates undergraduate co-author
Tabh JKR, Mastromonaco G & G. Burness. (2022). Stress-induced changes in body surface temperature are repeatable, but do not differ between urban and rural birds. Oecologia 198: 663-677.
Tapper S, Nocera J & G Burness. (2021). Body temperature is a repeatable trait in a free-ranging passerine bird. Journal of Experimental Biology 224: jeb243057
Tapper S, Nocera JJ & G Burness. (2020). Heat dissipation capacity influences reproductive performance in an aerial insectivore. Journal of Experimental Biology223: jeb222232.
Fischer D, Marrotte RR, Chin EH, Coulson S & G Burness. (2020) Maternal glucocorticoid levels during incubation predict breeding success but not reproductive investment in a free ranging- bird. Biology Open 9: bio045898
*Burrows B, *Ben-Ezra N & G Burness. (2019). Exposure of avian embryos to cycling incubation temperatures reduces adult innate immunity. Physiological and Biochemical Zoology. 92:286-292.
Burness G, *Moher D, *Ben-Ezra N, *Kelly RJ, Hasselquist D & EH Chin. (2018). Maternal immunization increases nestling energy expenditure, immune function, and fledging success in a passerine bird. Biology Open 7: bio028803.
Information for prospective students:
I am always excited to discuss graduate opportunities in my lab with highly motivated students. Because the field of evolutionary physiology is by nature inter-disciplinary, I welcome any inquiries from students with backgrounds in physiology, molecular biology, ecology and/or evolutionary biology. Under my guidance, students develop their own research projects within the general framework of animal energetics, and incorporate both field and lab work, whenever possible.