Professor Dr. Liam Mcguire

Biography

Liam McGuire is a physiological ecologist with an integrative research program that examines broader concepts by asking questions at multiple levels of organization. His research broadly falls within the areas of physiological ecology, movement ecology, thermal biology, and ecological energetics. He adopts an organismal biology approach, focusing on questions that involve the study of animals. Natural history plays a crucial role in his research, providing context for hypotheses and results. McGuire is particularly interested in how animals cope with energetic challenges driven by environmental conditions and constraints. Bats and birds serve as excellent study systems for investigating questions related to periods of high energy demands and low energy availability. Currently, his research focuses primarily on the migration and hibernation of bats. He is especially interested in comparing bat and bird migration, utilizing bird migration as a better-studied model system to understand distinct aspects of bat migration, such as thermoregulatory strategies, activity periods, and reproductive systems. McGuire's research also addresses the implications of heterothermy during migration, seasonal resource limitations, and regional-scale movement patterns. His research links human-wildlife conflict to issues such as bat mortality at wind energy facilities and Hendra virus spillover in migratory bats in Australia. A major focus of his current research is on hibernation and the white-nose syndrome that has led to millions of bats being killed in eastern and central North America due to a fungal disease introduced from Europe. McGuire's research program includes projects examining the ecology and physiology of hibernation, as well as the pathophysiology of disease.

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