Kyle D. Zimmer, Ph.D

Research in Aquatic Ecology

Professional Interests:

Aquatic ecology, focused on:

• Community and ecosystem ecology of shallow lakes and wetlands.

• Role of food-web interactions in the alternative stable state model for shallow lakes. 

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

• Biotic and abiotic factors responsible for the structure of aquatic food webs.

• Biotic influences on species diversity in shallow lakes.

• Stoichiometric relationships in aquatic habitats.

• Modeling aquatic ecosystems and processes, biometry.

Current Projects

• Carbon Sequestration in Minnesota’s Wetlands: An Important Sink with Management Implications (with J. Cotner (U of MN), S. Sugita (U of MN) and K. Theissen (UST)), 2005-2008

• Landscape Configuration and Prairie Wetland Characteristics: Functional Linkages, Fish Communities, and Ecosystem Features (with B. Herwig, M. Hanson, and R. Wright (MN DNR)), 2004-2007

• Lake Christina Reclamation: Ecosystem Consequences of Biomanipulation (with T. Call (MN DNR)), 2003-2005.   

Other Recent Projects

• Stoichiometric relationships in shallow prairie lakes and their response to state shifts. 

• Fish excretion as a source of internal nutrient loading in shallow prairie lakes (with B. Herwig (MN DNR) and L. Laurich (MU)).

• Prey consumption and population dynamics of fathead minnows in prairie wetlands (with B. Herwig (MN DNR)).

• Relationships among diet, growth rate, body size, and concentrations of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus in walleye (with D. Willis and M. Ward (SDSU).  

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

Recent Publications and Presentations

(Student authors are in bold.)

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

Potthoff, A.J., B.R. Herwig, K.D. Zimmer, M.A. Hanson, M.G. Butler, J.R. Reed, B.G. Parson, M.C. Ward, and D.W. Willis. Effects of piscivore introduction on wetland ecosystems: trophic interactions as determinants of ecosystem structure. In preparation. 

Verant, M.L., M.L. Konsti, C.A. Deans, and K.D. Zimmer. Factors influencing nitrogen and phosphorus excretion rates by a fish community in a shallow lake. In preparation.

Zimmer, K.D. Stoichiometric responses to state shifts in shallow lakes. In preparation. 

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

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

Zimmer, K.D., B.H. Herwig, and L.M. Laurich. 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: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