EIU-BioSci Personnel/Fischer.htm

Dr. Fischer's general interests include aquatic ecology, fisheries biology, and physiological ecology. His special interests include community analysis of stream fishes, life history and demographics of fish, bioenergetics of development and life history phenomena, and lipid storage and utilization patterns of fish. His current research is focusing on

The response of fish populations to environmental stressors, specifically examining the effects of heavy metals and heated effluent on the bioenergetics of fish.
The effects of habitat fragmentation and land use practices on stream fish community structure, fish growth rates and fish developmental stability.

He has published regularly in these areas and serves as a reviewer for Copeia and several other journals.

Poster Presentations:

Biotic assessment of water quality in the Sangamon River. 2003

Relationship of Benthic Productivity and Stream Water Chemistry: The Influence of Landscape in Illinois Watersheds. 2003.

Changes in Bluegill, Lepomis macrochirus, Life History in Response to Thermal Extremes. 2001.

The Effects of Habitat Fragmentation on Fish Developmental Stability. 2001.

Effects of Riparian Zone Fragmentation on Primary Productivity and Fish Growth Rates. 2000.

The Effects of Stream Fragmentation on Fish Communities. 2000.

Recent Grants

2004-05 Illinois Environmental Protection Agency Grant to conduct an intensive basin survey on the Illinois River. $18,576

2003-05 Sanitary District of Decatur Grant to conduct a biotic assessment of water quality in a stretch of the Sangamon River receiving effluent from the Sanitary District of Decatur. $105,242 (Co-Principle Investigator)

2002-04 National Science Foundation REU Grant to examine the ecology, behavior and physiology of exotic species. $164,786 (Co-Principle Investigator)

2002-03 Illinois Environmental Protection Agency Grant to conduct an intensive basin survey on the Kaskaskia River. $22,673

2002 Eastern Illinois University Technology-Enhanced and Delivered Education Grant to investigate the use of PDA technology to diverse curriculum. $5,115.

2001-02 Eastern Illinois University Council for Faculty Research Grant to examine the effects of aquatic habitat fragmentation on nutrient spiraling and primary productivity. $3,600.00

2001-03 Sanitary District of Decatur Grant to conduct fish population determination and quantitative habitat assessment on the Sangamon River. $88,500 (Co-Principle investigator)

2001 Eastern Illinois University Council for Faculty Research Summer Grant to examine the effects of varying degrees of aquatic habitat fragmentation on macroinvertebrate communities. $4,000.00

2001 Eastern Illinois University Technology-Enhanced and Delivered Education Grant to enhance the general education course Environmental Life Sciences. $3,971.45

2001 Eastern Illinois University College of Science Seed Grant to investigate the phylogeny of the sunfish family $1200.00.

2001 Eastern Illinois University Foundation Redden Fund for the Improvement of Undergraduate Instruction to purchase aquatic sampling equipment. $1,000

1998-01 Illinois Department of Natural Resources Conservation 2000 grant to investigate the response of channel characteristics and fish populations to the installation of a Bendway Weir Field: Embarras River near Greenup. $52,800 (Co-Principle Investigator)

Recent Publications

A.M. Day, Holtrop, H. Dodd, R. Smogor, R. Fischer, and M. Short. 2004. A guide to operation and assembly of an electric siene. Illinois Natural History Publication (technical report 2172)

K Kirkham and R.U. Fischer. 2004 The effects of riparian zone fragmentation on algal growth potential and fish growth rates. Bios 75: 2-11.

R. U. Fischer and B. Hausmann. 2003. The role of bowfin in multiple species fisheries management plans. Illinois Academy of Sciences. 96:154-162.

Nagle, R. D., M.V. Plummer, J. D. Congdon, and R. U. Fischer. 2003. Parental investment, embryo growth, and hatchling lipids in softshell turtles (Apalone mutica) from Arkansas. Herpetologica 59:145-154.

Ann M. Hogan and R. U. Fischer. 2002. Relationship between habitat variables and biotic integrity in Illinois streams. Journal of Freshwater Ecology 17(3): 475-483.

Nancy A. Schable, R. U. Fischer and T. C. Glen. 2002. Tetranucleotide mirosatellite DNA loci from the dollar sunfish (Lepomis marginatus). Molecular Ecology Notes 2:509-511