Migratory birds that fly during the day and night- time tend to fly at much higher altitudes during the day. These high-altitude flights may be driven by heating from the sun such that birds fly to higher, cooler altitudes during the day to thermoregulate. Many birds are impacted by high daytime temperatures and, ascending to 3-4km to avoid high air temperatures. However, several species reach very high altitudes, above 5-76km, during the day and it is unknown if this is driven by thermoregulatory demands. This project will increase our understanding on if birds climb to these seemingly extreme daytime altitudes as a response to added heating from solar radiation.
This project is available to a motivated Master’s student interested in studying how migratory birds maintain homeostasis while flying and how this can affect their decisions in flight. The successful student will acquire skills in modelling processes of heat exchange, use specialized equipment for measuring feather properties, and work with a museum directly to collect data, in addition to building writing and data analysis skills. This project has flexibility in its direction within the area described spanning topics from thermal biology, physiological ecology, and behaviour.
Project aims
The aim of this project is to understand the scope of impact that solar radiation may have on the heat balance of flying birds.
This project will involve using data collected from wind tunnel studies to provide baseline estimates, and data collected by you from a museum collection of migratory birds to quantify the impact of solar radiation on flying birds under different environmental conditions. Through this topic, you will explore the properties of feathers that influence heat balance to understand how these factors can affect birds while flying and at high-altitude. The focus of the project will be determined by you in collaboration with your supervisors.
Interested?
This project is appropriate for a 30-60 credit Master’s thesis. Possible start dates include the fall 2026 and winter 2027 term. You should be willing to commute to a museum for some data collection during the project. Applicants should also have a background in biology with courses in physiology and ecology, and some familiarity with using R. Courses in physics are an asset but not essential.
If you are interested, please email us:
Kevin Young (kevin.young@biol.lu.se)
Sissel Sjöberg (sissel.sjoberg@biol.lu.se)
Andreas Nord (andreas.nord@biol.lu.se)