Research in the Westerman Lab centers around a desire to understand how the developmental environment, both physical and social, influences brain development, physiological responses to environmental change, and social behavior. We are also motivated by a broad interest in behavioral diversity and evolution.
Our research is currently funded by a number of grants from the National Science Foundation, including an NSF CAREER Award. We also receive funding from the Arkansas Biosciences Institute, and members of the lab have received additional funding from a number of scientific societies, state, and local organizations.
As we are broadly interested in the mechanisms underlying evolutionarily important behaviors, most of our research integrates genetics or lab-based mechanistic approaches with whole-organism behavioral or field ecology studies. Please check out the topic-specific subpages in the menu for more information on past, present, and future research on learning and behavioral plasticity, behavioral genetics, environmental effects, behavioral ecology, and the butterflies of Northwestern Arkansas in the Westerman Lab.
For (almost) real-time updates on current lab member research interests, check out Recent Papers of Interest to the Lab, where we post papers that are either highly informative for current projects or are simply extremely cool science.
Erica Westerman’s google scholar profile
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- Hanging pupae in the greenhouse.
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- Herbivore in action.
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- Prairie restoration in Fayetteville, one of our field sites, minutes from campus.
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- Jan 2017, renovated, full of host plants, ready for butterflies!
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- Entrance to Ferritor Hall (Westerman Wet Lab), fall 2016
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- Wet lab set up!
These materials are not endorsed, approved, or provided by or on behalf of the University of Arkansas