Westerman Discusses Visual Systems of Butterflies in Latest Short Talks from the Hill

Erica Westerman

This month’s Short Talks from the Hill features Erica Westerman, an associate professor in the Department of Biological Sciences who describes herself as both an entomologist and an “integrative animal behaviorist.”

Westerman’s research focuses on understanding how organisms perceive and interact with their environment and how variations in these interactions facilitate diversity. She recently received a prestigious $1.35 million Faculty Early Career Development award from the National Science Foundation. This award will support her research on the role of genetics and ambient light in shaping the visual sensitivity and behavior of butterflies.

Of her interest in butterflies, Westerman explains, “I just really think (they’re) the best group of animals to work with. They’re incredibly speciose — so many, many, many species. The Lepidoptera, which is butterflies and moths, are second only to beetles in terms of number of species.” She adds, “When I started my Ph.D., I got the opportunity to kind of accidentally start working with butterflies and just completely fell in love with the system.”

You can also listen to Westerman’s podcast by clicking on the link above or by visiting Arkansas Research, the home of research and economic development news at the U of A.

And remember, you can listen to Short Talks programming wherever you get your podcasts. Previous podcasts can be found at the link above or by visiting arkansasresearch.uark.edu.

Thank you for listening!