ASU-Ask A Biologist

Profile of Dr. Glenn Walsberg

Why does the house finch look the same in the cold, damp Northwest as is does in the hot dry desert of Arizona? Shouldn't the desert birds have lighter colors? Professor Glenn Walsberg of Arizona State University studies how birds and mammals adapt to heat and cold. In his laboratory, he uses a special machine that blows air to imitate the wind. A bulb in the machine imitates the sun. A small bird or mammal goes into a special chamber in the machine. Walsberg and his students adjust levels of "wind" and "sun" then measure the bird's or animal's body temperature and metabolism -- the rate at which it uses energy.

Most of Walsberg's research is on desert animals. "The only way to keep cool in the desert is to evaporate water and there isn't any in the desert," Walsberg says. He points out that birds, mammals and the other creatures he studies are so small that they can move just a couple of inches -- from the shade into the sun -- and for them that's like going from a refrigerator into an oven. Moving can mean the difference between survival and death.

Chamber for quantifying energy metabolism and respiratory gas exchange of small animals exposed to varying combinations of wind, simulated solar radiation, and air temperature.

Investigating how animals cope is interesting. But Walsberg can't just scoop up animals and put them in the machine. He has to get permission from the university even if the animals live in cages in university laboratories. If he takes an animal from outside, he has to get permission from the state and federal government, too. He describes himself as a "pure" scientist who does his research solely to increase our understanding of the natural world, and does not focus on practical uses for his research.

For further reading, Walsberg recommends National Geographic, Odyssey or Scientific American magazines. The Sierra Club Naturalist's Guides are good, too. There is one for the Pacific Northwest and one for the Southwest deserts.

Article by Gail Maiorana | Photos Courtesy of Dr. Walsberg

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