Environmental Internship Program - 2023 Booklet

PROJECT TITLE
Broad-tailed Hummingbird
Foraging Patterns and
Climate Change
ORGANIZATION(S)
Stoddard Lab,
Department of Ecology
and Evolutionary Biology,
Princeton University
LOCATION(S)
Rocky Mountain
Biological Laboratory,
Gothic, Colorado
MENTOR(S)
Mary C. Stoddard,
Associate Professor of
Ecology and Evolutionary
Biology; Benedict Hogan,
Associate Research
Scholar, Ecology and
Evolutionary Biology;
Audrey Miller, Ph.D.
candidate, Ecology and
Evolutionary Biology
Michelle Thurber ’26
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY
I worked with a team of researchers to collect
data on broad-tailed hummingbird foraging
patterns. My teammates and I placed motionsensing
cameras on wildflower species at the
Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory (RMBL)
in Gothic, Colorado and recorded broad-tailed
hummingbird visits. This project is part of a
long-term study on how climate change affects
wildflower blooms and hummingbird foraging
patterns. As participants in RMBL’s Summer
Education Program, we also investigated the
effect of shorter-term temperature variation
on hummingbird visitation rates using data
collected by previous HMEI interns. We did
not find evidence of a relationship between
temperature and visitation rate, which was an
intriguing result for a tiny, fast-moving bird that
we thought would require even more frequent
refueling of nectar during colder temperatures.
This was my first experience doing research and
writing a scientific paper, and it was also my
first time climbing a mountain and seeing the
Milky Way. My summer of complete immersion
in nature, through science and my adventures,
transformed me in many ways. As a result, I’ve
become interested in helping others connect with
birds, stars, mountains or whatever elements of
nature speak to them.
* This internship is connected to the HMEI Climate
and Energy Grand Challenges project, “Investigating
the Effects of Climate Change on Hummingbird
Sensory Landscapes.”
BIODIVERSITY AND
CONSERVATION
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