Wim Kimmerer, Research Professor, Romberg Tiburon Center

Curriculum Vitae

Current Position

Research Professor, Romberg Tiburon Center, San Francisco State University

Research Interests: Estuarine ecology; Zooplankton ecology, particularly growth and effects of predation; Human impacts on coastal ecosystems; Applying statistical and modeling techniques to understand aquatic ecosystems.

Brief History
1967 B.S. degree in Chemistry, Purdue University
1967-1972 U.S. Navy nuclear submarines, served on board USS Nathan Hale and USS Tautog; left the Navy with the rank of Lieutenant
1972-1973 Completed flight training including Commercial, Instrument, and Instructor ratings
1973-1980 University of Hawaii, Department of Oceanography; Ph.D. in Biological Oceanography
1978-1982 Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, Assistant/Associate Researcher, Assistant Director
1982-1985 University of Melbourne, Department of Zoology
1986-1994 BioSystems Analysis Inc., Tiburon, CA, a consulting firm
1993-1998 Romberg Tiburon Center of San Francisco State University

Selected Publications

Kimmerer, W.J. and T.W. Walsh. 1981. Tarawa Atoll Lagoon: Circulation, nutrient fluxes and the impact of human waste. Micronesica 17:161-179.

Smith, S.V., W.J. Kimmerer, E.A. Laws, R.E. Brock, and T.W. Walsh. 1981. Kaneohe Bay sewage diversion experiment: perspectives on ecosystem responses to nutritional perturbation. Pac. Sci. 35:279-395.

Kimmerer, W.J. 1983. Direct measurement of the production: biomass ratio of the subtropical calanoid copepod Acrocalanus inermis. J. Plankt. Res. 5:1-14.

Kimmerer, W.J. 1984. Spatial and temporal variability in egg production rates of the calanoid copepod Acrocalanus inermis. Mar. Biol.78:165-169.

Kimmerer, W.J. 1984. Selective predation and its impact on prey of Sagitta enflata (Chaetognatha) in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii. Mar. Ecol. Progr. Ser. 15:55-62.

Kimmerer, W.J. 1984. Stability/diversity: a criticism. Ecology 65:1936-1938.

Kimmerer, W.J. and A.D. McKinnon. 1985. A comparative study of the zooplankton in two adjacent embayments, Port Phillip and Westernport Bays, Australia. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science. 21:145-159.

Kimmerer, W.J., A.D. McKinnon, M.J. Atkinson, and J.A. Kessell. 1985. Plankton spatial distributions in Shark Bay, Western Australia, June 1983. Aust. J. Mar. Freshw. Res. 36:421-432.

Fancett, M. and W.J. Kimmerer. 1985. Vertical migration of a demersal copepod as a predator avoidance strategy. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 88:31-43.

Smith, S.V., W.J. Kimmerer, and T.W. Walsh. 1985. Vertical flux and biogeochemical turnover regulate nutrient limitation of net organic production in the North Pacific Gyre. Limnol. Oceanogr. 31:161-167.

Kimmerer, W.J. 1987. The theory of secondary production calculations for continuously reproducing populations. Limnol. Oceanogr. 32:1-13.

Kimmerer, W.J., and A.D. McKinnon. 1987. Growth, mortality, and secondary production of the copepod Acartia tranteri in Westernport Bay, Australia. Limnol. Oceanogr. 32:14-28.

Kimmerer, W.J. and A.D. McKinnon. 1987. Zooplankton in a marine bay. I. Horizontal distributions used to estimate net population growth rates. Mar. Ecol. Progr. Ser. 41:43-52

Kimmerer, W.J. and A.D. McKinnon. 1987. Zooplankton in a marine bay. II. Vertical migration to maintain horizontal distributions. Mar. Ecol. Progr. Ser. 41:53-60.

Jagger, R., W.J. Kimmerer, and G. Jenkins. 1988. Food of the cladoceran Podon intermedius in a marine embayment. Mar. Ecol. Progr. Ser. 43:245-250

Hollibaugh, J.T., B.E. Cole, S.J. Dollar, S.W. Hager, W.J. Kimmerer, S. Obrebski, S.V. Smith, M. Valentino, S. Vink, and T.W. Walsh. 1988. Tomales Bay, California: A natural macrocosm for examining biogeochemical coupling at the land-sea interface. EOS 69:843-845.

Kimmerer, W.J. and A.D. McKinnon. 1989. Zooplankton in a marine bay. III. Evidence for influence of vertebrate predation on distributions of two common copepods. Mar. Ecol. Progr. Ser. 53:21-35.

Kimmerer, W.J. and A.D. McKinnon. 1990. High mortality in a copepod population caused by a parasitic dinoflagellate. Mar. Biol. 107:449-452.

Kimmerer, W.J. 1991. Predatory influences on copepod distributions in coastal waters. Pp. 161-174 in S.I. Uye, S. Nishida, and J.-S. Ho, eds., Proceedings of the Fourth International Conference on Copepoda. Bull. Plankton Soc. Japan, Spec. Vol., Hiroshima

McKinnon, A.D., W.J. Kimmerer, and J.A.H. Benzie. 1992. Sympatric sibling species within the genus Acartia (Copepoda: Calanoida): a case study from Westernport and Port Phillip Bays, Australia. J. Crustacean Biology 12:239-259

Kimmerer, W.J. 1993. Distribution patterns of zooplankton in Tomales Bay, California. Estuaries 16:264-272

Kimmerer, W.J., S.V. Smith, and J.T. Hollibaugh. 1993. A simple heuristic model of nutrient cycling in an estuary. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 37:145-149

Kimmerer, W.J., E. Gartside, and J.J. Orsi. 1994. Predation by an introduced clam as the probable cause of substantial declines in zooplankton in San Francisco Bay. Marine Ecology-Progress Series 113:81-93.

Peterson, W.T. and W.J. Kimmerer. 1994. Processes controlling recruitment of the marine calanoid copepod Temora longicornis in Long Island Sound: Egg production, egg mortality, and cohort survival rates. Limnol. Oceanograph. 39:1594-1605.

Kimmerer, W.J. and J.R. Schubel. 1994. Managing freshwater flows into San Francisco Bay using a salinity standard: results of a workshop. Pp. 411-416 In K.R. Dyer and R.J. Orth (eds.), Changes in fluxes in estuaries. Olsen and Olsen, Fredensborg, Denmark.

Jassby, A.D., W. J. Kimmerer, S.G. Monismith, C. Armor, J.E. Cloern, T.M. Powell, J.R. Schubel, and T.J. Vendlinski. 1995. Isohaline position as a habitat indicator for estuarine populations. Ecological Applications 5:272-289

Kimmerer, W.J. and J.J. Orsi. 1996. Causes of long-term declines in zooplankton in the San Francisco Bay estuary since 1987. pp. 403-424 in San Francisco Bay: The Ecosystem. J.T. Hollibaugh (ed.). American Association for the Advancement of Science, San Francisco. See Abstract.

Kimmerer, W.J, J. R. Burau, and W.A. Bennett. 1998. Tidally-oriented vertical migration and position maintenance of zooplankton in a temperate estuary. Limnology and Oceanography 43:1697-1709. See PDF.

Kimmerer, W.J., J.H. Cowan Jr., L.W. Miller, and K.A. Rose. 2000. Analysis of an estuarine striped bass population: Influence of density-dependent mortality between metamorphosis and recruitment. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Science 57: 478-486. . See PDF.

Sommer, T.R., M. Nobriga, B. Harrell, W. Batham, and W. Kimmerer. 2001. Floodplain rearing of juvenile chinook salmon: evidence of enhanced growth and survival. Can. J. Fish. Aq. Sci.58:325-333.

Kimmerer, W.J., J.H. Cowan Jr., L.W. Miller, and K.A. Rose. 2001. Analysis of an estuarine striped bass population: Effects of environmental conditions during early life. Estuaries 24:556-574.  See PDF.

Sommer, T, B. Harrell, M. Nobriga, R. Brown, P. Moyle, W. Kimmerer, and L. Schemel. 2001. California's Yolo Bypass: Evidence that flood control can be compatible with fisheries, wetlands, wildlife, and agriculture. Fisheries 26:6-16 . See PDF.

Kimmerer, W.J., W.A. Bennett, and J.R. Burau. 2002. Persistence of tidally-oriented vertical migration by zooplankton in a temperate estuary. Estuaries 25(3):359-371. See PDF.

Bennett, W. A., W.J. Kimmerer, and J.R. Burau. 2002.  Plasticity in vertical migration by native and exotic fishes in a dynamic estuarine low-salinity zone.   Limnol. Oceanogr 47:1496-1507. See PDF.

Monismith, S.G., W. Kimmerer, J.R. Burau, and M.T. Stacey. 2002.  Structure and flow-induced variability of the subtidal salinity field in northern San Francisco Bay.   Journal of Physical Oceanography 32:3003-3019.

Kimmerer, W.J. 2002. Effects of freshwater flow on abundance of estuarine organisms: physical effects or trophic linkages? Marine Ecology Progress Series 243:39-55. See PDF.

Kimmerer, W.J. 2002.  Physical, biological, and management responses to variable freshwater flow into the San Francisco estuary. Estuaries 25:1275-1290. See PDF.
  •  

 Kimmerer, W.J.  2004. Open-Water Processes of the San Francisco Estuary: from physical forcing to biological responses.  San Francisco Estuary and Watershed Science [online serial].  Vol. 2, Issue 1 (February 2004), Article 1.  See PDF.

Sommer, T.R., W. Harrell, A. Mueller-Solger, B.Tom, and W. Kimmerer.  2004.  Effects of reach-scale hydrologic variation on the biota of channel and floodplain habitats of the Sacramento River, California, USA. Aquatic Conservation:  Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 14:247-261.

Fisher, K. and W. Kimmerer.  2004.  Fractal distributions of temperature, salinity and fluorescence in spring 2001-2002 in south San Francisco Bay.  In Novak, M.M. (Ed.). Thinking in Patterns: Fractals and Related Phenomena in Nature.  World Scientific, Singapore

Kimmerer, W., D. Murphy, and P. Angermeier.  2005.  A landscape-level model of the San Francisco Estuary and its watershed.  San Francisco Estuary and Watershed Science [online serial].  Vol. 3, Issue 1 (February 2004), Article 2.  See PDF.

Kimmerer, W.J.  S. Avent, S. M. Bollens, F. Feyrer, L. Grimaldo, P.B. Moyle, M. Nobriga, and T. Visintainer. 2005.  Variability in length-weight relationships used to estimate biomass of estuarine fishes from survey data. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 134: 481-495.  See PDF.

Kimmerer, W.J.  2005.  Long-term changes in apparent uptake of silica in the San Francisco Estuary.  Limnology and Oceanography 50: 793-798.  See PDF.

Choi, K-H., W. Kimmerer, G. Smith, G.M. Ruiz, and K. Lion.  2005.  Post-exchange zooplankton in ships ballast water coming to the San Francisco Estuary.  Journal of Plankton Research 27: 707-714.  See PDF.

Kimmerer, W.J., M.H. Nicolini, N. Ferm, and C. Peñalva.  2005.  Chronic food limitation of egg production in populations of copepods of the genus Acartia in the San Francisco Estuary.  Estuaries 28: 541–550. See PDF.

Gross, E.S., M.L. MacWilliams, and W. Kimmerer. 2006. Simulating Periodic Stratification in San Francisco Bay. Proceedings of the Ninth Estuarine and Coastal Modeling Conference, ASCE, pp. 155-175.

Kimmerer, W.J. 2006. Response of anchovies dampens foodweb responses to an invasive bivalve (Corbula amurensis) in the San Francisco Estuary. Marine Ecology Progress Series 324:207-218. See PDF.

Bouley, P.B. and W.J. Kimmerer. 2006. Ecology of a highly abundant, introduced cyclopoid copepod in a temperate estuary. Marine Ecology Progress Series 324:219-228. See PDF.

Kimmerer, W.J., A.G. Hirst, R.R. Hopcroft, and A.D. McKinnon. 2007. Measurement of juvenile copepod growth rates: corrections, inter-comparisons and recommendations. Marine Ecology Progress Series 336: 187-202.

Sommer, T., C. Armor, R. Baxter, R. Breuer, L. Brown, M. Chotkowski, S. Culberson, F. Feyrer, M. Gingras, B. Herbold, W. Kimmerer, A. Mueller-Solger, M. Nobriga, and K. Souza. 2007. The collapse of pelagic fishes in the upper San Francisco Estuary. Fisheries 32(6): 270-277.

Kimmerer, W.J. and M.L. Nobriga. Investigating dispersal in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta using a particle tracking model. In press, San Francisco Estuary and Watershed Science.

Kimmerer, W. Losses of Sacramento River Chinook salmon and delta smelt to entrainment in water diversions in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. In press, San Francisco Estuary and Watershed Science.

Choi, K-H. and W. Kimmerer. 2008. Mate limitation in an estuarine population of copepods. In Press, Limnology and Oceanography.

Some Recent Invited Presentations

Kimmerer, W.J. 2001. Physical, biological, and management responses to variable freshwater flow into the San Francisco estuary.  Estuarine Research Federation, St. Petersburg FL.

Kimmerer, W.J. 2002. How will climate change affect the ecosystem of the San Francisco Estuary?.  ASLO Ocean Sciences meeting, Honolulu, February 2002.

Kimmerer, W.J. 2002. Physical and biological responses to variable freshwater flow into the San Francisco estuary. Invited, Symposium on Freshwater Flows, Narragannsett, RI, October 2002.

Kimmerer, W.J. 2003. Estuarine zooplankton as ecological filters. Invited, American Fisheries Society Early Life History symposium, Santa Cruz, CA, August 2003.

Kimmerer, W.J. 2003. Paradoxes in the response of zooplankton to freshwater flow in the San Francisco Estuary.  Estuarine Research Federation, Seattle, September 2003.

Kimmerer, W.J.  2003.  Physical, Biological, and Management Responses to Variable Freshwater Flow and Diversions in the San Francisco Estuary.   Coastal Restoration and Enhancement through Science and Technology program (CREST) Symposium: Advances in Coastal Habitat Restoration in the Northern Gulf States.  Thibodaux, Louisiana, July 2003.

Kimmerer, W.J.  2003.  Estuarine zooplankton as ecological filters.  American Fisheries Society Early Life History symposium, Santa Cruz, CA, August 2003.

Kimmerer, W.J.  2003.  Paradoxes in the response of zooplankton to freshwater flow in the San Francisco Estuary.  Estuarine Research Federation, Seattle, September 2003

Kimmerer, W.J.  2004.  Population trends and the influence of restoration actions on winter-run Chinook salmon.  CALFED Science Conference, Sacramento, October 2004.

Kimmerer, W.J.  2004.  Ecosystem-level changes following foodweb disruption by an introduced clam in the San Francisco Estuary.  CALFED Science Conference, Sacramento, October 2004.

Kimmerer, W.J.  2004.  Assessing the CALFED Bay-Delta Ecosystem Restoration Program: Racing to Catch Up.  Plenary, First National Conference on Ecosystem Restoration, Orlando.

Kimmerer, W.J.  2005.  The importance of scale and frame of reference in understanding and restoring an estuarine ecosystem.  Humboldt Bay Symposium, Arcata, CA, March 2005.

Kimmerer, W.J. 2005.  Ecosystem-level changes following foodweb disruption by an introduced clam in the northern San Francisco Estuary. Estuarine Research Federation, October 2005.


A few Recent Technical Reports

Kimmerer, W.J. 1992. An evaluation of existing data on the entrapment zone of the San Francisco Bay estuary. Interagency Ecological Studies Program, Sacramento, Technical Report

Kimmerer, W.J. (ed.) 1995. Management Plan for Tarawa Lagoon, Republic of Kiribati. Volume II. Scientific Studies. Report to U.S. Agency for International Development, Suva, Fiji.

Kimmerer, W.J. (ed.). 1998. 1994 Entrapment Zone report. Interagency Ecological Program, Sacramento, Technical Report 56

See Also: Strategic Plan for the CALFED Ecosystem Restoration Program. Prepared by the Strategic Plan Core Team (Members: Michael Healey, Wim Kimmerer, Matt Kondolf, Rod Meade, Peter Moyle, and Bob Twiss; Project Manager: Steve Chainey). 1998. See summary

Affiliations

Research Professor, Romberg Tiburon Center

Chair, Estuarine Ecology Team, a Project Work Team of the Interagency Ecological Program

American Society of Limnology and Oceanography

Past President and founding officer, California Estuarine Research Society (CAERS), an affiliate society of the Estuarine Research Federation.

American Association for the Advancement of Science

Former Member of CALFED Bay-Delta Program Ecosystem Restoration Strategic Planning Core Team and  CALFED Ecosystem Restoration Program Science Board.

For Research Interests see Research
Return to Home Page