Heather Liwanag
Heather Liwanag, Ph.D.Languages
English
Education
B.S. Biology, University of California, San Diego
Ph.D. Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz
Research Interests
- Comparative Physiology
- Thermal Biology
- Physiological Ecology
- Evolutionary Physiology
- Animal Behavior
Advising Interests
- Biology of vertebrate animals, especially reptiles and marine mammals
- Functional morphology
- Environmental physiology
Research
I am interested in the physiological adaptations of animals to their environment, and the evolutionary processes involved in those adaptations. Much of my research has focused on thermoregulation - the regulation of body temperature - in both endotherms and ectotherms. My lab manages Team Ellie, the Cal Poly northern elephant seal research team, as well as an ongoing sea otter foraging study in Morro Bay.
