Faculty of Science, Engineering and Built Environment

School of Life and Environmental Sciences

Prof Bill Buttemer
  Phone   +61 3 522 72157
Email   bill.buttemer@deakin.edu.au
Position   Chair in Physiological Ecology
Campus   Geelong
Research grouping   Ecophysiology, Sensory Ecology and Behaviour
Centre for Integrative Ecology

Bill Buttemer has a broad background in comparative physiology that is now focused on physiological
appraisal of animal life history. This research uses an integrative approach that combines many fields:
physics to quantify the physical environments of animals, physiological assessment (endocrinology,
biochemistry, immunology, and metabolic assessment), and ecology to place these interactions into an
evolutionary context.

Research interests

  1. Physiological examination of life history tradeoffs
  2. Animal longevity from an evolutionary physiology perspective
  3. Immune/endocrine/nutritional interactions with aerobic performance

Career

PhD - The University of Michigan (1981)
Postdoctoral Research: U.C. Davis, U.C. Los Angeles, UNSW
Lecturer University of Tasmania (1991-1993)
Lecturer-Professor University of Wollongong (1993-2009)
Professor (Chair in Physiological Ecology) - Deakin University (2009-)

Key publications

Pryke, S. R., L. B. Astheimer, S. C. Griffith & W. A. Buttemer (2012) Covariation in life-history traits: differential effects of diet on condition, hormones, behavior and reproduction in genetic finch morphs. American Naturalist 179, 375-390

Montgomery, M., A. J. Hulbert & W. A. Buttemer (2011) The long life of birds: The rat-pigeon comparison revisited. PLoSOne 6(8), e24138

Buttemer, W.A., D. Abele & D. Costantini (2010) From bivalves to birds: Oxidative stress and longevity. Functional Ecology 24, 971-983

Buttemer, W.A., H. Battam & A.J. Hulbert (2008) Fowl play and the price of petrel: long-living Procellariiformes have peroxidation-resistant membranes compared with short-living Galliformes Biology Letters 4, 351-354

Hulbert, A. J., R. Pamplona, S. Buffenstein, & W. A. Buttemer (2007) Life and death: metabolic rate, membrane composition, and life span of animals Physiological Reviews 87, 1173-1213

View entire list of audited publications

 

PhD students

Student nameThesis title
Megan Kelly (external)Influence of temperature on aging in ectotherms. Malsha Kitulagodage (external)Impact of fipronil, a new generation pesticide, on avian development and health. Magdalene Montgomery (external)The long life of birds: an examinaton of the oxidative stress theory of aging.  

 

Honours students

Student nameThesis title Lisa TrottoInfluence of incubation temperature on physiological, morphological, and behavioural phenotypes of Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica)  


Deakin University acknowledges the traditional land owners of present campus sites.

8th February 2013