YUSHI OGUCHI
I study animal ecological physiology because it provides a unique perspective on ecology through the experience and challenges of individual animals. My core interests are in digestive physiology and ecological immunology – tools for understanding the animal’s “economics” and “self-defense,” respectively.
I earned my B.S. in Natural Sciences (major: Wildlife Ecology) at UW–Madison while studying the developmental patterns of the innate immune function of house sparrows in Dr. William Karaosov’s lab as an assistant. My M.S. project at Michigan State University (Dr. Jen Owen) highlighted the potential benefits of using native-dominated shrubland as opposed to using exotic-dominated shrubland for fall migrating land birds during a stopover. Such insights were gained through measuring habitat use (e.g., fruit consumption) and the birds’ immune and antioxidant status.
I returned to UW–Madison for my Ph.D. with Dr. Karasov to investigate the mechanisms of intestinal digestive enzyme modulation by specific dietary macronutrient signals (i.e. carbohydrates, proteins, and lipids) in a model avian omnivore (domestic chickens). We are finding that juvenile chickens have greater ability to adaptively modulate enzyme profiles to match their dietary macronutrient composition than adults. We are using RNA-Seq to better understand the molecular mechanisms of this modulation and its change with age. Similarly, we are studying the evolutionary consequences of dietary specialization on intestinal enzyme activities and gene expression (RNA-Seq) by comparing hummingbirds and chimney swifts (both of the Order Apodiformes).
I became “adopted” by Dr. Pauli in 2023 upon retirement of Dr. Karasov and collaborate with Emma Blackdeer (https://pauli.russell.wisc.edu/people/emma-blackdeer/). To keep my fieldwork skills from rusting I band birds as a sub-permittee at the Biocore Prairie Bird Observatory of UW–Madison.
Email: oguchi@wisc.edu