Pre-Prints

Westrick SE, Fischer EK, van Kesteren F, Boutin S, Lane JE, McAdam AG, & Dantzer B. (submitted 2024) Timing-dependent effects of elevated maternal glucocorticoids on offspring brain gene expression in a wild small mammal. currently on bioRxiv. link

Peer Reviewed Publications

* denotes undergraduate researcher at the time of the study

14- Westrick SE, Paitz RT, & Fischer EK. (accepted 2025) Why not both? A case study measuring cortisol and corticosterone. Integrative and Organismal Biology.

13- Moss JB, Julkowski K, Podraza ME*, Westrick SE, Winter BM, & Fischer EK (accepted 2025) Extrinsic and intrinsic factors affecting sex-reversed parental care in poison frogs. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.

12- Surber-Cunningham LL, Jimenez LS*, Mobo LW*, Westrick SE, & Fischer EK. (2025) Early development of the glucocorticoid stress response in poison frog tadpoles. General and Comparative Endocrinology. link

11- ^Westrick SE, Moss JB, & Fischer EK. (2023) Who cares? An integrative approach to understanding the evolution of behavioural plasticity in parental care. Animal Behaviour. 200: 225-236. link       ^Editor’s Choice & Best Paper Award winner

10- Westrick SE, Laslo M, & Fischer EK. (2022) The big potential of the small frog Eleutherodactylus coqui. eLife 11(e73401). link

9- Westrick SE, van Kesteren F, Boutin S, Lane JE, McAdam AG, & Dantzer B. (2021) Maternal glucocorticoids have minimal effects on HPA axis activity and behavior of juvenile wild North American red squirrels. Journal of Experimental Biology 224(10). link

8- Westrick SE, Taylor RW, Boutin S, Lane JE, McAdam AG, Dantzer B (2020) Attentive red squirrel mothers have faster-growing pups and higher lifetime reproductive success. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology. 74(72). link

7- Dantzer B, van Kesteren F, Westrick SE, Boutin S, McAdam AG, Lane JE, Gillespie R, Majer A, Haussmann M, Monaghan P (2020) Maternal stress promotes offspring growth without oxidative costs in wild red squirrels. Journal of Experimental Biology. 223(1). link

6- Santicchia F, Wauters LA, Dantzer B, Westrick SE, Ferrari N, Romeo C, Palme R, Preatoni DG, Martinoli A (2019) Relationships between personality traits and the physiological stress response in a wild mammal. Current Zoology. 66(2): 197-204. link

5- Westrick SE, van Kesteren F, Palme R, Boonstra R, Lane JE, Boutin S, McAdam AG, Dantzer B. (2019) Stress is not predictive of coping style in North American red squirrels. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology. 73(113). link

4- van Kesteren F, Delehanty B, Westrick SE, Palme R, Boonstra R, Lane JE, Boutin S, McAdam AG, Dantzer B. (2019) Experimental increases in glucocorticoids alter function of the neuroendocrine stress axis in wild red squirrels without negatively impacting survival and reproduction. Physiological and Biochemical Zoology. 92(5), 445-458. link

3- Westrick SE*, Broder ED, Reznick DN, Ghalambor CK, Angeloni L. (2019) Rapid evolution and behavioral plasticity following introduction to an environment with reduced predation risk. Ethology. 125(4), 232-240. link

2- Fischer EK, Westrick SE, Hartsough L*, Hoke KL. (2018). Differences in neural activity, but not behavior, across social contexts in guppies, Poecilia reticulata. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology. 72(8), 131. link

1 - Dantzer B, Westrick SE, van Kesteren F. (2016). Relationships between endocrine traits and life histories in wild animals: insights, problems, and potential pitfalls. Integrative and Comparative Biology. 56(2): 185-197. link