| Abstract: | Low-mass galaxies probe the smallest galactic scales -- the regime where standard cold dark matter is most stringently challenged. Their abundances, structures, and internal dynamics encode some of the most direct constraints on dark matter physics and on the role of baryonic feedback. Until recently, our view of these systems was limited largely to a few dozen small galaxies in the immediate vicinity of our own. New instrumentation and survey techniques are now revealing the broader population -- and uncovering striking diversity in their dark matter content, structures, and globular cluster populations. I will present recent results from observations of low-mass galaxies in the nearby Universe, including extreme systems with anomalous dark matter content and the rich globular cluster populations that act as direct tracers of their underlying halos. I will conclude with ongoing and upcoming surveys that aim to bring statistical rigor to these dark-matter tests on galactic scales. |