Tony Williams, Simon Fraser University

Research

evoutionary physiology life-history variation reproduction egg size clutch size parental care individual variation female-specific traits

Latest papers

Chicks of cavity-nesting birds do not 'exercise' prior to fledging.
Royal Society open science · 2025 · senior author
IUCN Conservation Status Does Not Predict Glucocorticoid Concentrations in Reptiles and Birds.
Integrative and comparative biology · 2018

All 2 publications

Latest funding

Addressing (surprising, persistent) knowledge gaps in avian reproduction: egg size, clutch size, and parental care
NSERC · 2024 · Principal investigator
$62,000
Diet or exercise? How do birds cope with transitions in workload associated with parental care or fledging?
NSERC · 2018 · Principal investigator
$330,000
Operations and Maintenance Support - Advanced Facility for Avian Research
NSERC · 2017 · Co-investigator
$140,562

All 24 grants and awards

2 publications.

01

Chicks of cavity-nesting birds do not 'exercise' prior to fledging.

Earle K, Allen J, Hodinka BL, Williams T

Royal Society open science2025Senior author

DOI: 10.1098/rsos.251579 PMID: 41307053

02

IUCN Conservation Status Does Not Predict Glucocorticoid Concentrations in Reptiles and Birds.

Martin LB, Vitousek M, Donald JW, Flock T, Fuxjager MJ, Goymann W, Hau M, Husak J, Johnson MA, Kircher B, Knapp R, Miller ET, Schoenle LA, Williams T, Francis CD

Integrative and comparative biology2018

DOI: 10.1093/icb/icy102 PMID: 30052988

Addressing (surprising, persistent) knowledge gaps in avian reproduction: egg size, clutch size, and parental care

Principal investigatorNSERC2024Discovery Grants Program - Individual

Principal investigators: Williams, Tony

Keywords: evoutionary physiology; life-history variation; reproduction; egg size; clutch size; parental care; individual variation; female-specific traits

$62,000

Diet or exercise? How do birds cope with transitions in workload associated with parental care or fledging?

Principal investigatorNSERC2018Discovery Grants Program - Individual

Principal investigators: Williams, Tony

$330,000

Operations and Maintenance Support - Advanced Facility for Avian Research

Co-investigatorNSERC2017Research Tools and Instruments

Principal investigators: MacDougallShackleton, Scott

$140,562

Automated radio tracking system for avian studies

Principal investigatorNSERC2014Research Tools and Instruments - Category 1 (<$150,000)

Principal investigators: Williams, Tony

$41,111

""Very large outdoor aviaries for conducting critical experiments on inter-seasonal and inter-generational effects on avian physiology, neurobiology, behaviour and ecology""

Co-investigatorNSERC2012Research Tools and Instruments - Category 1 (<$150,000)

Principal investigators: Zanette, Liana

$89,365

Physiological Adaptations for Breeding in Birds

Principal investigatorNSERC2012Discovery Grants Program - Individual

Principal investigators: Williams, Tony

$360,000

Physiological Adaptations for Breeding in Birds

Principal investigatorNSERC2012Discovery Grants Program - Accelerator Supplements

Principal investigators: Williams, Tony

$120,000

Regulatory mechanisms and cost of reproduction

Principal investigatorNSERC2007Discovery Grants Program - Individual

Principal investigators: Williams, Tony

$224,250

Real-time thermocycler for the quantification of gene expression

Co-investigatorNSERC2005Research Tools and Instruments - Category 1 (<$150,000)

Principal investigators: Haunerland, Norbert

$32,303

Automated microplate spectrometer

Principal investigatorNSERC2004Research Tools and Instruments - Category 1 (<$150,000)

Principal investigators: Williams, Tony

$20,285

From CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC funding decisions: CIHR since 2008, NSERC since 1991 and SSHRC since 1998, including their latest published competition results.

Write to this professor

A short, specific email works best. This draft uses one of their recent papers; replace the parts in brackets with your own details before sending.

Applying for

Paper to mentionMention their NSERC grant from 2024

Subject: Prospective PhD student: evoutionary physiology Dear Professor Williams, My name is [your name], and I am a [your current degree or role] at [your institution]. I am applying for a PhD position starting in [term and year]. I read your paper "Chicks of cavity-nesting birds do not 'exercise' prior to fledging." (2025), and it connects closely to my own work on [your research topic]. [One or two sentences on what you did and what you learned.] I also saw your NSERC-funded project "Addressing (surprising, persistent) knowledge gaps in avian reproduction: egg size, clutch size, and parental care" (2024), and I would be glad to contribute to work in that direction. Are you accepting new PhD students for [term and year]? I have attached my CV and transcripts, and I would be glad to talk at a time that suits you. Thank you for your time. Kind regards, [your name]