Comparative Chronobiology
- Mar 8, 2021
- 3 min read
Updated: Nov 6, 2025
Challenge: Speculatively visualize a chronobiology comparison between a non-human organism/ecology and humans. This may be based on speculative time perception arrived at with media (sound or motion graphics) processed thru a simulated/biomimetic (software) clock & rate/speed adjusted via comparative data.
For our Chronobiology project, Timothy Rubio, Stella Brown, Catie Bryant, and I decided to focus on the comparison between the speculative time perception of ruby-throated hummingbirds versus humans. The primary focuses in regards to data include heart rate and body temperature. Because ruby-throated hummingbirds migrate twice a year mainly across the eastern range of North America, several drastic changes to their bodies occur which makes them a fascinating species to study.
Conceptual Biodesign
In our study, we found that these hummingbirds have the ability to travel up to 500 miles without stopping while crossing the Gulf of Mexico, and once they reach the continental U.S., they tend to travel 20 miles per day. During this migration, hummingbirds lose up to 40% of their body mass which they regain after completing their travel. Depending on the climate that this species is inhabiting, their heart rate changes drastically in relation to their body temperature. During the torpor state, which enables animals to survive when there is a lack of food resources, the hummingbirds body temperature drops 50 degrees which causes their heart rate to slow from 500 bpm to less than 50 bpm. Because their wing speed is the fastest in the world at 200 bps, hummingbirds are able to quickly recover from this state in the span of 24 hours through increasing their metabolic rate and wing speed. This inherently influences their body temperature, which on average, can fluctuate from 50 degrees to 104 degrees in this same time span.
During migration, the ruby-throated hummingbirds body mass is highest in the autumn and lowest in the spring with an average mainly existing in the summer season. When this species wakes in the morning, it contracts and releases its muscles rapidly in order to warm itself. This process can take up to an hour to return to a normal body temperature, and once completed, the hummingbird immediately goes to find food. Given that the hummingbirds biological time clock is rapidly paced, it is incredible that they are able to live for three to five years.
Design Feasibility, Data, and Scale
Taking this research on ruby-throated hummingbirds into consideration, we came to the conclusion that it would be fascinating to explore how this time clock would exist in that of a human body. For visual representation, we created comparative videos in creative commons that change in saturation, speed, etc. in relation to heart rate and body temperature.
Visual Representations
Biocultural Impact
Personal Impact
My role in this collaborative project was the media producer. As a team, we all researched both ruby throated hummingbirds and humans extensively and organized the data so that it would be useful for the Max 8 programming. I spent extra time organizing and filling out some of the presentation, choosing and applying the color palette, communicating a visualization idea for programming, and finding creative commons videos and audios for remix.
