Wesley W. Weathers, Ph.D. Professor Emeritus     Phone: (530)752-7411 Lab: (530)752-2401 FAX:(530)752-0175 Home Office: (707)451-1907 E-mail: wwweathers@ucdavis.edu

Education

B.S.,Zoology, San Diego State College, CA, 1964.

M.S., Zoology, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, 1967.

Ph.D., Zoology, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, 1969.

Postdoctoral, Physiology, UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA, 1969-70

Research

My research focuses on the thermal ecology and ecological energetics of wild birds. The kinds of questions that intrigue me are: 1) how does the thermal environment affect the water and energy economy of birds, and 2) how do variations in life history traits, habitat, and body size affect patterns of energy allocation to reproduction and growth. Although my research sometimes has conservation implications, I consider myself a physiological ecologist rather than a conservation biologist. Most of my research addresses fundamental questions in avian biology, and my students and I use a variety of physiological techniques to quantify thermal environments and energetics of free-living birds. Laboratory measurements of water flux and energy requirements, using open-circuit respirometry, often complement our field studies. Ideally, students working in my lab will have a good background in the quantitative sciences. My approach is fundamentally empirical, although I sometimes employ synthesis and analysis.

Selected Publications