Terrie M Williams
· ProfessorUniversity of California, Santa Cruz · Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Active 1983–2026
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About
Terrie M Williams is a faculty member in the Department of Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology at UC Santa Cruz. Her research addresses how information in DNA is packaged, read, and interpreted in living cells, as well as how cells are built, regenerated, and work together to comprise an organism. Her work is part of the larger scientific enterprise focused on understanding the molecular and cellular basis of life, with broad implications for human health and environmental applications. The department, recognized as a leader in this field, collaborates across multiple disciplines including chemistry, physics, biomolecular engineering, microbiology, and environmental toxicology, reflecting a comprehensive approach to biomedical research.
Research topics
- Computer Science
- Environmental science
- Ecology
- Biology
- Oceanography
- Geography
- Geology
- Psychology
- Physical geography
- Neuroscience
Selected publications
Brain activity of diving seals reveals short sleep cycles at depth
Science · 2023 · 79 citations
) diving in Monterey Bay, California. Brain-wave patterns showed that seals took short (less than 20 minutes) naps while diving (maximum depth 377 meters; 104 sleeping dives). Linking these patterns to accelerometry and the time-depth profiles of 334 free-ranging seals (514,406 sleeping dives) revealed a North Pacific sleepscape in which seals averaged only 2 hours of sleep per day for 7 months, rivaling the record for the least sleep among all mammals, which is currently held by the African ele…
Movement Ecology · 2020 · 55 citations
Senior authorCorrespondingBACKGROUND: Under current scenarios of climate change and habitat loss, many wild animals, especially large predators, are moving into novel energetically challenging environments. Consequently, changes in terrain associated with such moves may heighten energetic costs and effect the decline of populations in new localities. METHODS: ) was measured during treadmill locomotion on level and incline (6.8°) surfaces. These data were used to predict energetic costs of locomotor behaviours of free-ran…
Functional Ecology · 2022-06-21 · 43 citations
articleOpen access1st authorCorrespondingAbstract Limited polar geographical range, narrowly defined migratory routes, and deep‐diving behaviours make narwhals exceptionally vulnerable to anthropogenic disturbances including oceanic noise. Although behavioural studies indicate marked responses of cetaceans to disturbance, the link between fear reactions and possible injury from noise exposure is limited for most species. To address this, we deployed custom‐made heart rate‐accelerometer‐depth recorders on 13 adult narwhals in Scoresby S…
The impact of rising sea temperatures on an Arctic top predator, the narwhal
Scientific Reports · 2020 · 41 citations
Arctic top predators are expected to be impacted by increasing temperatures associated with climate change, but the relationship between increasing sea temperatures and population dynamics of Arctic cetaceans remains largely unexplored. Narwhals (Monodon monoceros) are considered to be among the most sensitive of Arctic endemic marine mammals to climate change due to their limited prey selection, strict migratory patterns and high site fidelity. In the context of climate change, we assume that t…
White Paper: An Integrated Perspective on the Causes of Hypometric Metabolic Scaling in Animals
Integrative and Comparative Biology · 2022 · 37 citations
Senior authorCorrespondingLarger animals studied during ontogeny, across populations, or across species, usually have lower mass-specific metabolic rates than smaller animals (hypometric scaling). This pattern is usually observed regardless of physiological state (e.g. basal, resting, field, maximally-active). The scaling of metabolism is usually highly correlated with the scaling of many life history traits, behaviors, physiological variables, and cellular/molecular properties, making determination of the causation of t…
Recent grants
Frequent coauthors
- 36 shared
Randall W. Davis
Texas A&M University at Galveston
- 32 shared
James A. Estes
University of California, Santa Cruz
- 30 shared
Daniel F. Doak
University of Colorado System
- 27 shared
Dawn P. Noren
California Academy of Sciences
- 24 shared
Daniel P. Costa
Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation
- 22 shared
Marla M. Holt
NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service Northwest Fisheries Science Center
- 21 shared
Lee A. Fuiman
The University of Texas at Austin
- 20 shared
Alan M. Springer
University of Alaska Fairbanks
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