Heidy Contreras, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, UCI

My recent project has focused on the interactions between the environment and an organism’s physiology and how this affects an individual’s behavior. In particular I have studied the importance of osmoregulatory behavior in amphibians and how this physiological parameter may affect the distribution of these organisms. As a doctoral student I would like to continue exploring these ideas, specifically addressing how they relate to conservation issues by focusing on behavior within natural populations and understanding the evolution of these adaptations. Fundamentally I am interested in understanding animal behavior as a response to the interaction between environment and physiological limitations. Currently I have been working on the effect of dehydration/starvation in fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) metabolism in order to better understand how insects may deal with a decrease in water availability.