Resolved studies of star formation in nearby galaxies

Observational evidence suggests that the stellar initial mass function (IMF) is sensitive to galactic environment. This talk highlights a study of Milky Way-type galaxies whose central regions show very high levels of Hα emission and excess Wolf-Rayet features. It then presents very recent work comparing starbursts in low-mass and high-mass galaxies. Finally, it presents observational evidence that starbursts may regulate the diversity of rotation curves in present-day low-mass galaxies.