Campuses:
Professor, Department of Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Biology
Phone: 612-625-5704
E-mail: RNewman@umn.edu
Ph. D. University of Minnesota
B.S. Slippery Rock University
Aquatic ecology, invasive species, and fisheries management.
My research interests are in applied and basic aquatic ecology with an emphasis on trophic relations, littoral zones, and streams. I have a wide range of research interests in fisheries ecology and believe a mix of descriptive and manipulative research is essential. Much of my work is interdisciplinary and has involved collaboration with other researchers.
I am interested in basic and applied aspects of herbivory on freshwater macrophytes by invertebrates. This work includes applied research on potential biological control agents of nuisance weeds such as Eurasian watermilfoil and more basic research on the role of secondary chemicals in the use of macrophytes by aquatic invertebrates. My students and I have examined secondary chemicals as feeding deterrents to generalist herbivores and as oviposition attractants to specialist herbivores that may be useful biological control agents. More recently we have been examing the ecology of invasive aquatic plants such as milfoil and curlyleaf pondweed. This includes work on effects of large scale treatments to control invasive plants, models to predict invasion and the ecology of propagules such as seeds and turions.
I am also interested in trophic relations of fish. For example, at what spatial scale are stream fish food limited? Does fish predation limit populations of watermilfoil control agents?
Lastly, I am interested in stream fish and invertebrates, especially as these relate to density, growth, and feeding relations. I am particularly interested in research linking individual fish responses to population level responses. Recent applied work is aimed at determining the effects of riparian logging practices on stream habitat, invertebrates and fish population.
