Janet M FischerDr. E. Paul & Frances H. Reiff Professor of Biology, Department Chair of Biology
Education
B.A. Wellesley College
M.S., Ph.D. University of Wisconsin
Research
Selected Publications
Weyhenmeyer, G.A., U. Obertegger, H. Rudebeck, E. Jakobsson, J. Jansen, G. Zdorovennova,
S. Bansal, B. Block, C.C. Carey, J.P. Doubek, H. Dugan, O. Erina, I. Fedorova, J.M. Fischer, L. Grinberga, H-P. Grossart, K. Kangur, L.B. Knoll, A. Laas, F. Lepori, J. Meier,
N. Palshin, M. Peternell, M. Pulkkanen, J.A. Rusak, S. Sharma, D. Wain, and R. Zdorovennov.
2022. Towards critical white ice conditions in lakes under global warming. Nature
Communications 13:4974.
Olson, M.H., J.M. Fischer, and M. Hayashi. 2022. Temporal dynamics of dissolved
organic matter (DOM) in mountain lakes: the role of catchment characteristics. Canadian
Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 79: 289-299.
Beaulieu, J., D. Trepanier-Leroux, J. M. Fischer, M. H. Olson, S. Thibodeau, S. Humphries, D. J. Fraser & A. M. Derry. 2021. Rotenone
for exotic trout eradication: nontarget impacts on aquatic communities in a mountain
lake, Lake and Reservoir Management, DOI: 10.1080/10402381.2021.1912864
Olson, M.H., J.M. Fischer, M. Hayashi, and C.E. Williamson. 2020. Meteorological drivers of interannual variation
in transparency of mountain lakes. Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research 52(1):
424-434.
Loewen, C.J.G., A. L. Strecker, G.L. Larson, A. Vogel, J.M. Fischer, and R.D. Vinebrooke. 2018. Macroecological driver of zooplankton communities across
the mountains of western North America. Ecography DOI 10.1111/ecog.03817
Olson, M.H., J.M. Fischer, C.E. Williamson, E.P. Overholt, and N. Theodore*. 2018. Landscape-scale regulators
of water transparency in mountain lakes: implications of projected glacial loss. Canadian
Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 75: 1169-1176.
Overholt EP, KC Rose, CE Williamson, JM Fischer, NA Cabrol. 2016. Behavioral responses of freshwater calanoid copepods to the presence
of ultraviolet radiation: avoidance and attraction. Journal of Plankton Research 38:
16-26.
Sanders RW, SL Cooke, JM Fischer, SB Fey, AW Heinze, WH Jeffrey, AL Macaluso, RE Moeller, DP Morris, PJ Neale, MH Olson,
JD Pakulski, JA Porter, DM Schoener, and CE Williamson. 2015. Shifts in microbial
food web structure and productivity after additions of naturally occurring dissolved
organic matter: results from large-scale lacustrine mesocosms. Limnology and Oceanography
60: 2130-2144.
Cooke SL, JM Fischer, K Kessler, CE Williamson, RW Sanders, DP Morris, JA Porter, and W Jeffries. 2015.
Direct and indirect effects effects of additions of chromophoric dissolved organic
matter during large-scale mesocosm experiments in an oligotrophic lake. Freshwater
Biology 60: 2362-2378.
Leach TH, CE Williamson, N Theodore*, JM Fischer, and MH Olson. 2015. The role of ultraviolet radiation in the diel vertical migration
of zooplankton: an experimental test of the transparency-regulator hypothesis. Journal
of Plankton Research 37: 886-896.
Fischer JM, MH Olson, N Theodore*, CE Williamson, KC Rose, and J Hwang*. 2015. Diel vertical
migration of copepods in mountain lakes: the changing role of ultraviolet radiation
across a transparency gradient. Limnology and Oceanography 60: 252-262.
Rose KC, DP Hamilton, CE Williamson, C McBride, JM Fischer, MH Olson, JE Saros, MG Allan, N Cabrol. 2014. Comparison of light attenuation characteristics
between glacially- and non-glacially fed lakes. Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences
119, doi:10.1002/2014JG002674.
Rose KC, CE Williamson, JM Fischer, SJ Connelly, MH Olson, AJ Tucker, DA Noe. 2012.The role of ultraviolet radiation and
fish in regulating the vertical distribution of Daphnia. Limnology and Oceanography
57: 1867-1876.
Fischer JM, MH Olson, CE Williamson, JC Everhart*, PJ Hogan, JA Mack, KC Rose, JE Saros, JR Stone,
RD Vinebrooke. 2011. Implications of climate change for Daphnia in alpine lakes: predictions
from long-term dynamics, spatial distribution, and a short-term experiment. Hydrobiologia
676: 263-277.
Williamson CE, JM Fischer, SM Bollens, EP Overholt, and JK Breckenridge. 2011. Toward a more comprehensive theory
of zooplankton diel vertical migration: integrating ultraviolet radiation and water
transparency into the biotic paradigm. Limnology and Oceanography 56: 1603-1623.
Rose KC, CE Williamson, JE Saros, R Sommaruga, and JM Fischer. 2009. Differences in UV transparency and thermal structure between alpine and subalpine
lakes: Implications for organisms. Photochem. Photobiol. Sci 8: 1244-1256.
Course Information
101. Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
An introduction to Mendelian genetics, micro- and macro-evolutionary processes, the
origin and diversification of life on earth and ecological patterns and processes
at organismal, population, community and ecosystem levels. Offered every Spring.
310. Experimental Design in Biology. (BWR)
An exploration of the challenges and rewards of experimentation in biology. In this
seminar, we will use case studies to illustrate the basic principles of experimental
design, including hypothesis generation, assigning treatments, replication/pseudoreplication,
confounded variables and statistical power. Case studies will be chosen to represent
a wide range of sub-disciplines of biology, including biomedical research. Prerequisites:
BIO 210, 200 or 220 and permission of the instructor.
323. Ecological Concepts and Applications. (N) (BWR)
Interactions of organisms with their environment and how these interactions are influenced
by human activities. Special emphasis is placed on principles of population, community
and ecosystem ecology. Class exercises and discussions involve critical evaluation
of current research and applications of ecological concepts to conservation and management.
Most labs are field-oriented, including an overnight trip to the Poconos. Prerequisites:
BIO 200 or 220 and permission of the instructor. Offered every Fall.