Michael Romero – Stress in Birds

L. Michael Romero is Professor of Biology at Tufts University

In contrast to stress-related disease in humans, the stress response is vital for helping wild birds survive in their natural habitats. I will present research showing that the hormonal and physiological responses to stress are important for birds to survive natural stressors such as storms, predation attempts, and starvation. The stress response may also show us how birds cope with human-created changes in their habitats.

Michael Romero, Professor of Biology at Tufts University, has studied stress for almost 40 years. He combines laboratory and field work to discover what causes stress in wild animals, what physiological and endocrinological responses are elicited, and how those responses help wild animals survive in their native habitats. A special focus is on how understanding stress can help in the conservation of species at risk from human activities. Although he has worked with over 100 different species, the majority of his work has focused on wild birds. Prof. Romero recently summarized the work in this field in a book he co-wrote with John Wingfield entitled: “Tempests, Poxes, Predators, and People: Stress in Wild Animals and How They Cope.”