Donn Branstrator, Associate Professor
Education
- Ph.D., University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
- B.A., Lawrence University
AIS Area of Interest
Donn is an associate professor at University of Minnesota - Duluth. He is a limnologist interested in the ecology of freshwater zooplankton. His research program seeks to understand the structure and function of freshwater food webs and how non-native species influence ecological processes. My students work primarily with crustacean zooplankton and use a variety of approaches including paleolimnology, laboratory and field experiments, stable isotopes, and field monitoring in inland lakes and the Laurentian Great Lakes. Many of our questions are motivated by finding solutions to the management of aquatic invasive species.
AIS Species of Study
Current MAISRC projects
Select publications
- Branstrator, D., Beranek, A., Brown, M., Hembre, L., & Engstrom, D. (2017). Colonization dynamics of the invasive predatory cladoceran, Bythotrephes longimanus, inferred from sediment records. Limnology and Oceanography, 62, 1096–1110.
- Sorensen, M., & Branstrator, D. (2017). The North American invasive zooplanktivore Bythotrephes longimanus is less hypoxia-tolerant than the native Leptodora kindtii. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 74, 824–832.
- Pawlowski, M., Branstrator, D., Hrabik, T., & Sterner, R. (2017). Changes in the cladoceran community of Lake Superior and the role of Bythotrepes longimanus. Journal of Great Lakes Research, 43, 1101–1110.
Research Team
Nicki DeWeese is a M.S. student pursuing a degree in Water Resources Science. She graduated from the College of St. Benedict with a BA in Natural Science and a minor in Environmental Studies. The aim of her research project is to characterize the ecosystem impacts of the spiny water flea in Minnesota lake. Her work uses lake sediment records to reconstruct past lake conditions and community compositions.
