Kyle D. Zimmer, Ph.D

Research in Aquatic Ecology

Professional Interests:

Aquatic ecology, focused on:

• Community and ecosystem ecology of shallow lakes and wetlands.

• Influences of food-web interactions on alternative stable-states in shallow lakes. 

• Biogeochemistry of shallow lakes, stoichiometric relationships in aquatic habitats.

• Biotic influences on species diversity and food webs.

• Ecology of fish, aquatic invertebrates, and submerged macrophytes.

• Modeling aquatic ecosystems and processes, biometry.

Current Projects

Influence of landscapes, ambient nutrients, and fish on shallow lake ecosystems in Minnesota. Funded by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (2008-2011).

Undergraduate Science Research Program. Funded by Merck/AAAS (2007-2011)

Carbon Sequestration in Minnesota’s Wetlands: An Important Sink with Management Implications. Funded by IREE, University of Minnesota (2005-2008).

Two alternative stable states in shallow lakes: the clear-water state (left) 
and the turbid-water state (right).

Peer-reviewd Publications

Undergraduate student authors are in bold.

Potthoff, A.J., B.R. Herwig, M.A. Hanson, K.D. Zimmer, M.G. Butler, J.R. Reed, B.G. Parson, M.C. Ward, and D.W. Willis. In press. Cascading food web effects of piscivore introductions in shallow lakes. Journal of Applied Ecology.   

Verant, M.L., M.L. Konsti, K.D. Zimmer, and C.A. Deans. 2007. Factors influencing nitrogen and phosphorus excretion rates by fish in a shallow lake. Freshwater Biology 52:1968-1981.

Herwig, B.R., and K.D. Zimmer.  2007. Population dynamics and prey consumption by fathead minnows in prairie wetlands: importance of detritus and larval fish. Ecology of Freshwater Fish 16:282-294.

Hood J.M., S. Brovold, R.W. Sterner,  M. Villar-Argaiz, K.D. Zimmer. 2006. Near    infrared spectrophotometry (NIRS) for the analysis of seston carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus from diverse sources. Limnology and Oceanography Methods 4:96-104.        

Scheffer, M., G.J. van Geest, K.D. Zimmer, E. Jeppesen, M.G. Butler, M.A. Hanson, M. Søndergaard, S. Declerck, and L. De Meester. 2006. Small habitat size and isolation can promote species richness: second-order effects on biodiversity in shallow lakes and ponds. Oikos 112:227-231.

Zimmer, K.D., B.H. Herwig, and L.M. Laurich. 2006. Nutrient excretion by fish in wetland ecosystems and its potential to support algal production. Limnology and Oceanography 51:197-207.     

Hanson, M.A., K.D. Zimmer, M.G. Butler, B.A. Tangen, B.H. Herwig, and N.H. Euliss. 2005. Biotic interactions as determinants of ecosystem structure in prairie wetlands: an example using fish. Wetlands 25:764-775.

Herwig, B.R., M.A. Hanson, J.R. Reed, B.G. Parsons, A.J. Pothoff, M.C. Ward, K.D. Zimmer, M.G. Butler, D.W. Willis, and V.A. Snook. 2004. Walleye stocking as a tool to suppress fathead minnows and improve habitat quality in semipermanent and permanent wetlands in the prairie pothole region of Minnesota. Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Special Publication Number 159.

Angeler, D.G., P. Chow-Fraser, M.A. Hanson, S. Sánchez-Carillo, and K.D. Zimmer. 2003. Biomanipulation: a useful tool for freshwater wetland mitigation?  Freshwater Biology 48:2203-2213.

Laurich, L.M., K.D. Zimmer, M.G. Butler, and M.A. Hanson. 2003. Selectivity for zooplankton prey by fathead minnows and brook sticklebacks. Wetlands 23:416-422.

Zimmer, K.D., M.A. Hanson, and M.G. Butler. 2003. Interspecies relationships, community structure, and factors influencing the abundance of submerged macrophytes in prairie wetlands. Wetlands:717-728.       

Zimmer, K.D., M.A. Hanson, and M.G. Butler. 2003. Relationships among nutrients, phytoplankton, macrophytes, and fish in prairie wetlands. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 60:721-730.

Zimmer, K.D., M.A. Hanson, and M.G. Butler. 2002. Effects of fathead minnows and restoration on prairie wetland ecosystems. Freshwater Biology 47:2071-2086.

Melaas, C.L., K.D. Zimmer, M.G. Butler, and M.A. Hanson. 2001. Effects of rotenone on aquatic invertebrate communities in prairie wetlands. Hydrobiologia 459:177-186.

Muscha, M.J., K.D. Zimmer, M.G. Butler, and M.A. Hanson. 2001. A comparison of horizontally and vertically deployed aquatic invertebrate activity traps. Wetlands 21:301-307.

Zimmer, K.D., M.A. Hanson, M.G. Butler, and W.G. Duffy. 2001. Size distributions of aquatic invertebrates in two prairie wetlands, with and without fish, with implications for community production. Freshwater Biology 46:1373-1386.

Zimmer, K.D., M.A. Hanson, and M.G. Butler. 2001. Effects of fathead minnow colonization and removal on a prairie wetland ecosystem. Ecosystems 4:346-357.

Zimmer, K.D., M.G. Butler, M.A. Hanson, and W.G. Duffy. 2001. Influences of fathead minnows and aquatic macrophytes on nutrient partitioning and ecosystem structure in two prairie wetlands. Archiv für Hydrobiologie 150:411-433.

Hanson, M.A., C.C. Roy, N.H. Euliss, K.D. Zimmer, M.R. Riggs, and M.G. Butler. 2000. A surface-associated activity trap for capturing water-surface and aquatic invertebrates in wetlands. Wetlands 20:205-212.

Zimmer, K.D., M.A. Hanson, and M.G. Butler. 2000. Factors influencing invertebrate communities in prairie wetlands: a multivariate approach. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 57:76-85.

Noraker, T.D., K.D. Zimmer, M.G. Butler, and M.A. Hanson. 1999. Dispersion and distribution of marked fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas) in prairie wetlands. Journal of Freshwater Ecology 14:287-292.

Wang, L.I., K.D. Zimmer, P.A. Diedrich, and S.F. Williams. 1996. The two-story rainbow trout fishery and its effect on the zooplankton community in a Minnesota lake. Journal of Freshwater Ecology 11:67-80.

Student Researchers