Hot Birds Research Project
Past Researchers
Take a look at our publications page for research outputs from these projects...
2023
2021
Celiwe Ngcamphalala (Ph.D.)
Supervisors: Prof. Andrew McKechnie, Prof. Sue Nicolson, Prof. André Ganswindt
2020
Amanda Bourne (Ph.D.)
Thesis: Can social behaviour, particularly load-sharing, buffer against fitness costs associated with heat stress?
Supervisors: Dr. Susan Cunningham, Prof. Amanda Ridley, Dr. Claire Spottiswoode
Collaborator: Prof. Andrew McKechnie
Matthew Noakes (Ph.D.)
Thesis: Phenotypic and genotypic sources of variation in the thermal physiology of a passerine bird
Supervisors: Prof. Andrew McKechnie
Krista Oswald (Ph.D.)
Thesis: Vulnerability of a Fynbos-endemic bird to climate warming: insights from past and present responses to high temperatures
Supervisors: Dr Ben Smit, Dr Alan Lee, Dr Susan Cunningham, Dr Shelley Edwards
Jack Harper (M.Sc.)
Supervisors: Prof. Wendy Foden, Dr Susan Cunningham, Dr Nicola van Wilgen
Matt Orolowitz (M.Sc.)
Thesis: Life on the Edge: Does body size dictate how birds deal with the heat in South Africa’s most extreme desert?
Supervisors: Dr Susan Cunningham
Barry van Jaarsveld (M.Sc.)
Thesis: Thermoregulatory adaptation to tree cavity microclimates in endotherms living in a hot desert: intra- and interspecific variation
Supervisors: Prof. Andrew McKechnie, Prof. Nigel Bennett
Jess Roberts (M.Sc.)
Thesis: Thermoregulation and microhabitat use by Dune Larks in the Namib Sand Sea
Supervisors: Prof. Andrew McKechnie, Dr. Susie Cunningham
2019
2009
Andries Janse van Vuuren (B.Sc. Hons)
Supervisor: Prof. Andrew McKechnie, Dr. Lucy Kemp
Michelle Bouwer (B.Sc. Hons)
Thesis: Non-invasive quantification of physiological stress in southern yellow-billed hornbills (Tockus
leucomelas): a validation of faecal glucocorticoid metabolite assays
Supervisors: Prof. Andrew McKechnie, Prof. André Ganswindt, Celiwe Ngcamphalala
Sekgwari Mpho Malematja (M.Sc.)
Thesis: Phenotypic flexibility of digestion in White-browed Sparrow-Weavers (Plocepasser mahali): limits to digestive flexibility and dietary enzyme modulation
Supervisors: Prof. Andrew McKechnie, Prof. William Karasov
Tanja van de Ven (Ph.D.)
Thesis: Implications of climate change on the reproductive success of the Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill, Tockus leucomelas
Supervisor: Prof. Phil Hockey, Dr Susan Cunningham, Prof. Andrew McKechnie, Prof. Peter Ryan
Ryan O'Connor (Ph.D.)
Thesis: Chilled birds in hot places: thermal physiology of arid-zone caprimulgids
Supervisor: Prof. Andrew McKechnie, Prof. Mark Brigham
Anne Ankermann (B.Sc. Hons)
Thesis: Global variation of avian metabolic rates and body temperature
Supervisor: Prof. Andrew McKechnie
Emma Jepsen (B.Sc. Hons)
Thesis: Validation of a non-invasive assay for circulating stress hormones in an Afrotropical arid-zone passerine
bird, the southern pied babbler
Supervisors: Prof. Andrew McKechnie, Prof André Ganswindt, Celiwe Ngcamphalala
Monique van Dyk (B.Sc. Hons)
Thesis: The effect of humidity on evaporative cooling efficiency in a passerine bird
Supervisors: Prof. Andrew McKechnie, Matthew Noakes
Mokgatla Jerry Molepo (M.Sc.)
Thesis: Foraging behaviour and thermal physiology of cape sugarbirds; sex-specific responses to temperature
Supervisor: Dr Ben Smit, Dr Alan Lee, Dr Susan Cunningham
Ryan Olinger (M.Sc.)
Thesis: Hot Drongos - foraging, parental care and thermoregulatory trade-offs
Supervisors: Dr Susan Cunningham, Dr Tom Flower
Krista Oswald (M.Sc.)
Thesis: Seasonal physiological responses in the Cape Rockjumper (Chaetops frenatus): a Fynbos endemic shows limited capacity to cope with temperature extremes
Supervisors: Dr Ben Smit, Dr Alan Lee
Nicolas Pattison (M.Sc.)
Thesis: Seasonal physiological and behavioural responses of a small bird in an arid habitat
Supervisor: Dr Ben Smit
Nevanya Lubbe (B.Sc. Hons)
Thesis: The energetic significance of communal roosting and insulated roost nests in a small arid-zone bird
Supervisors: Prof. Andrew McKechnie, Matthew Noakes
Penny Pistorius (M.Sc.)
Thesis: How air temperatures affects flight initiation distance in arid-zone birds
Supervisors: Dr Susan Cunningham, Dr Rowan Martin
Sekgwari Mpho Malematja (B.Sc. Hons)
Thesis: Seasonal physiological and behavioural responses of a small bird in an arid habitat
Supervisors: Prof. Andrew McKechnie, Matthew Noakes
Salamatu Abdu (M.Sc.)
Thesis: Does the availability of shade limit use of water holes by desert birds?
Supervisors: Dr Susan Cunningham, Prof. Peter Ryan, Prof. Andrew McKechnie
Matthew Noakes (M.Sc.)
Thesis: Spatial and seasonal variation in thermoregulatory limits in a widespread southern African passerine
Supervisors: Prof. Andrew McKechnie, Prof. Blair Wolf
Nicholas Pattinson (B.Sc. Hons)
Thesis: Heat dissipation behaviours in Sonoran Desert birds
Supervisors: Prof. Andrew McKechnie, Prof. Blair Wolf
Ben Smit (Ph.D.)
Integrating behavioural and physiological variables to predict avian responses to climate change in the Kalahari Desert
Supervisors: Prof. Andrew E. McKechnie, Prof. Phil Hockey
Maxine Whitfield (M.Sc.)
Thesis: Evaporative cooling capacity and heat tolerance in Kalahari Desert birds: effects of body mass and phylogeny
Supervisors: Prof. Andrew McKechnie, Prof. Blair Wolf
Robyn Milne (M.Sc.)
Thesis: Physiological tolerances of high temperatures in Fynbos birds: implications for climate change
Supervisors: Prof. Peter Ryan, Dr Susan Cunningham, Dr Alan Lee, Dr Ben Smit
Phenias Sadondo (M.Sc.)
Thesis: The influence of temperature on parental investment in southern fiscals and consequences for nestling growth
Supervisors: Prof. Peter Ryan, Dr Susan Cunningham, Dr Rowan Martin
Kate du Plessis (M.Sc.)
Thesis: Heat tolerance of Southern Pied Babblers in the Kalahari Desert: how will they respond to climate change?
Supervisors: Prof. Phil Hockey, Prof. Amanda Ridley, Dr Rowan Martin, Dr Susan Cunningham
Gina Louw (M.Sc.)
Thesis: How will climate change affect birds in hot African deserts?
Supervisors: Prof. Phil Hockey, Dr Rowan Martin, Dr Susan Cunningham
Justine Cordley (M.Sc.)
Thesis: Hot, hotter, gone? Predicting climate-induced species losses from hot African ecosystems
Supervisors: Prof. Phil Hockey
2008
Ben Smit (M.Sc.)
Thesis: Patterns of thermoregulation and seasonal metabolic adjustments in small owls in an arid environment
Supervisors: Prof. Andrew McKechnie, Prof. Graham Alexander