Ph.D., 2008, Stanford University B.Sc., 2000, University of California, Santa Barbara

My research explores how organisms living in a highly variable environment, the rocky intertidal zone, cope with physical and physiological stress. I am interested in species' responses to thermal stress, wave stress, desiccation stress, and climate change, and how organisms’ behavioral and morphological traits allow them to mitigate potential environmental stresses. Much of my research involves the development of custom electronic sensors to track environmental conditions and the status of organisms.

Helmuth, B., F. Choi, A. Matzelle, J.L. Torossian, S.L. Morello, K.A.S. Mislan, L. Yamane, D. Strickland, P.L. Szathmary, S.E. Gilman, A. Tockstein, T.J. Hilbish, M.T. Burrows, A.M. Power, E. Gosling, N. Mieszkowska, C.D.G. Harley, M. Nishizaki, E. Carrington, B. Menge, L. Petes, M.M. Foley, A. Johnson, M. Poole, M.M. Noble, E.L. Richmond, M. Robart, J. Robinson, J. Sapp, J. Sones, B.R. Broitman, M.W. Denny, K.J. Mach, L.P. Miller, M. O’Donnell, P. Ross, G.E. Hofmann, M. Zippay, C. Blanchette, J.A. Macfarlan, E. Carpizo-Ituarte, B. Ruttenberg, C.E. Peña Mejía, C.D. McQuaid, J. Lathlean, C.J. Monaco, K.R. Nicastro and G. Zardi (2016). Long-term, high frequency in situ measurements of intertidal mussel bed temperatures using biomimetic sensors. Scientific Data 3: 1-11 http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/sdata.2016.87 OPEN ACCESS LINK (Featured in the New York Times) Early, R., B.A. Bradley, J.S. Dukes, J.J. Lawler, J.D. Olden, D.M. Blumenthal, P. Gonzalez, E.D. Grosholz, I. Ibanez, L.P. Miller, C.J.B. Sorte and A.J. Tatem (2016). Global threats from invasive alien species in the twenty-first century and national response capacities. Nature Communications 7 http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ncomms12485 OPEN ACCESS LINK LaScala-Gruenewald, D. E., L. P. Miller, M. E. S. Bracken, B. J. Allen & M. W. Denny (2016). Quantifying the top-down effects of grazers on a rocky shore: selective grazing and the potential for competition. Marine Ecology Progress Series 533: 49-66 http://dx.doi.org/10.3354/meps11774 OPEN ACCESS LINK Miller, L.P. and J.D. Long (2015). A tide prediction and tide height control system for laboratory mesocosms. PeerJ 3: e1442 OPEN ACCESS LINK Miller, L.P., B. J. Allen, F. A. King, D. Chilin, V. Reynoso & M. W. Denny (2015) Warm microhabitats drive both increased respiration and growth rates of intertidal consumers. Marine Ecology Progress Series 522: 127-143 http://dx.doi.org/10.3354/meps11117 Chu, N.D., L.P. Miller, S.T. Kaluziak, G.C. Trussell & S.V. Vollmer (2014) Thermal stress and predation risk trigger distinct transcriptomic responses in the intertidal snail Nucella lapillus. Molecular Ecology doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/mec.12994 Miller, L.P., C.M. Matassa & G.C. Trussell (2014) Climate change enhances the negative effects of predation risk on an intermediate consumer. Global Change Biology 20: 3834-3844 doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/gcb.12639 Ibáñez, I., J.M. Diez, L.P. Miller, J.D. Olden, C.J.B. Sorte, D.M. Blumenthal, B.A. Bradley, C.M. D’Antonio, J.S. Dukes, R.I. Early, E.D. Grosholz & J.J. Lawler (2014) Integrated assessment of biological invasions. Ecological Applications 24(1): 25-37 doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1890/13-0776.1 Miller, L.P. (2013) The effect of water temperature on drilling and ingestion rates of the dogwhelk Nucella lapillus feeding on Mytilus edulis mussels in the laboratory. Marine Biology 160: 1489-1496 doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00227-013-2202-z Miller L. P. & M. W. Denny. (2011) Importance of behavior and morphological traits for controlling body temperature in littorinid snails. Biological Bulletin, 220 (3): 209-223. http://www.biolbull.org/content/220/3/209.short Sorte, C. J. B., S. J. Jones & L. P. Miller. (2011) Geographic variation in temperature tolerance as an indicator of potential population responses to climate change. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 400(1): 209-217. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jembe.2011.02.009