T-birds: testosterone and life on the move (Members Only)

Garth Casbourn is an ornithologist and soon-to-be academic. Born and bred in London, Ontario, Garth returned to his native soil for his doctorate. He studies the effects of testosterone on avian movement behaviours with Dr. Scott MacDougall-Shackleton at the University of Western Ontario. A long-time member of Nature London, he’s had a long association with the Birding Wing in particular and is excited to be sharing some of the findings on his doctoral research.

It is not an exaggeration to say that bird migration research has gone through a revolution in the last few decades. The miniaturization of tracking technology has been at the forefront of this, but other fields, such as physiology and endocrinology, have also been looking more deeply at the migratory phenomenon. Using the song sparrow as a model, this talk looks at the role that testosterone plays in shaping the behaviours of migrating birds. The research combined captive and field studies, and a variety of experimental approaches, delving into the way hormones shape behaviour across seasons and across the life cycle.