David W. Willis

Dr. Willis is a Distinguished Professor who joined the Department faculty in 1987. He assumed the role of Department Head in 2008. He advises and mentors both undergraduate and graduate students.

Dr. Willis has numerous research projects, including one from the South Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station. His research primarily involves fisheries management. He is especially proficient in pond and lake management.

In 1996 he coauthored (with Drs. Flake and Scalet) the text "Introduction to Wildlife and Fisheries: An Integrated Approach." The second edition was published in 2007 (with a 2009 publication date). He is coeditor of the second edition of "Fisheries Techniques," published by the American Fisheries Society (AFS). In 1997 he received the Excellence in Fisheries Education Award from AFS. In 2003 he received the Excellence in Public Outreach Award from AFS. In 2007 he was inducted into the Fisheries Management Section Hall of Excellence (AFS).

Fishery Assessment, Fishery Management, Fish Ecology, Fish Population Structure and Dynamics

Jolley, J. C., D. W. Willis, T. J. DeBates, and D. D. Graham. 2008. The effects of mechanically reducing northern pike density on the sport fish community of West Long Lake, Nebraska, USA. Fisheries Management and Ecology 15:251-258.

Phelps, Q. E., B. D. S. Graeb, and D. W. Willis. 2008. First year growth and survival of common carp in two glacial lakes. Fisheries Management and Ecology 15:85-91.

Ward, M. C., D. W. Willis, B. R. Herwig, S. R. Chipps, B. G. Parsons, J. R. Reed, and M. A. Hanson. 2008. Consumption estimates of walleye stocked as fry to suppress fathead minnow populations in west-central Minnesota wetlands. Ecology of Freshwater Fish 17:59-70.

Edwards, K. R., Q. E. Phelps, B. D. S. Graeb, and D. W. Willis. 2007. Asynchronous bluegill recruitment in four South Dakota impoundments. Journal of Freshwater Ecology 22(1):19-22.

Guy, C. S., R. M. Neumann, D. W. Willis, and R. O. Anderson. 2007. Proportional Size Distribution (PSD): a further refinement of population size structure index terminology. Fisheries 32(7):348.

Isermann, D. A., D. W. Willis, B. G. Blackwell, and D. O. Lucchesi. 2007. Yellow perch in South Dakota: population variability and predicted effects of creel limit reductions and minimum length limits. North American Journal of Fisheries Management 27:918-931.

Kaemingk, M. A., B. D. S. Graeb, C. W. Hoagstrom, and D. W. Willis. 2007. Patterns of fish diversity in a mainstem Missouri River reservoir and associated delta in South Dakota and Nebraska, USA. River Research and Applications 23:786-791.

Phelps, Q. E., K. A. Powell, S. R. Chipps, and D. W. Willis. 2007. A method for determining stomach fullness for planktivorous fishes. North American Journal of Fisheries Management 27:932-935.

Phelps, Q. E., K. R. Edwards, and D. W. Willis. 2007. Precision of five structures for estimating age of common carp. North American Journal of Fisheries Management 27:103-105.

Wanner, G. A., D. A. Shuman, and D. W. Willis. 2007. Food habits of juvenile pallid sturgeon and adult shovelnose sturgeon in the Missouri River downstream of Fort Randall Dam, South Dakota. Journal of Freshwater Ecology 22(1):81-92.

Wanner, G. A., D. A. Shuman, M. L. Brown, and D. W. Willis. 2007. An initial assessment of sampling procedures for juvenile pallid sturgeon in the Missouri River downstream of Fort Randall Dam, South Dakota and Nebraska. Journal of Applied Ichthyology 23:529-538.

Ward, M. J., D. W. Willis, B. H. Miller, and S. R. Chipps. 2007. Walleye consumption and long-term population trends following gizzard shad introduction into a western South Dakota reservoir. Journal of Freshwater Ecology 22(2):339-345.

Ward, M. J., S. J. Fisher, and D. W. Willis. 2007. Environmental influences on walleye fingerling production in southwestern Minnesota shallow lakes. North American Journal of Aquaculture 69:297-304.

Adams, W. E. Jr., L. W. Kallemeyn, and D. W. Willis. 2006. Lake sturgeon, Acipenser fulvescens, movements in Rainy Lake, Minnesota and Ontario. Canadian Field-Naturalist 120(1):71-82.

Adams, W. E. Jr., L. W. Kallemeyn, and D. W. Willis. 2006. Lake sturgeon population characteristics in Rainy Lake, Minnesota and Ontario. Journal of Applied Ichthyology 22:97-102.

Gosch, N. J. C., Q. E. Phelps, and D. W. Willis. 2006. Habitat characteristics at bluegill spawning colonies in a South Dakota glacial lake. Ecology of Freshwater Fish 15:464-469.

Guy, C. S., R. M. Neumann, and D. W. Willis. 2006. New terminology for Proportional Stock Density (PSD) and Relative Stock Density (RSD): Proportional Size Structure (PSS). Fisheries 31(2):86-87.

Shuman, D. A., D. W. Willis, and S. C. Krentz. 2006. Application of a length-categorization system for pallid sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus albus). Journal of Freshwater Ecology 21(1):71-76.

Ward, M. J., D. W. Willis, and G. F. Galinat. 2006. Gizzard shad recruitment patterns in a western South Dakota irrigation reservoir. Journal of Freshwater Ecology 21(2):201-208.

Edwards, K. R., Q. E. Phelps, J. L. Shepherd, D. W. Willis, and J. D. Jungwirth. 2005. Comparison of scale and otolith age estimates for two South Dakota bluegill populations. Proceedings of the South Dakota Academy of Science 84:181-186.

Jackson, J. R., J. C. Boxrucker, and D. W. Willis. 2005. Trends in agency use of propagated fishes as a management tool in inland fisheries. Pages 121-138 in Propagated fish in resource management. M. J. Nickum, P. M. Mazik, J. G. Nickum, and D. D. MacKinlay, editors. American Fisheries Society Symposium 44, Bethesda, Maryland.

Phelps, Q. E., M. J. Ward, C. P. Paukert, S. R. Chipps, and D. W. Willis. 2005. Biotic and abiotic correlates with black bullhead population characteristics in Nebraska sandhill lakes. Journal of Freshwater Ecology 20(2):295-302.

Billington, N., R. N. Koigi, B. D. S. Graeb, and D. W. Willis. 2004. Hybridization between sauger and walleye in Lewis and Clark Lake, South Dakota, determined by protein electrophoresis. Pages 115-116 in T. P. Barry and J. A. Malison, editors. Proceedings of Percis III: The Third International Percid Fish Symposium, University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute, Madison.

Billington, N., R. N. Koigi, F. White, D. Porter, B. D. S. Graeb, and D. W. Willis. 2004. Use of isozyme markers to document hybridization between walleye and sauger in three Missouri River reservoirs in South Dakota. Gene Families and Isozymes Bulletin 37:26.

Graeb, B. D. S., D. W. Willis, and J. C. Jolley. 2004. Fish community assessment of Lake Christina following application of rotenone. Final Report submitted to Ducks Unlimited, Alexandria, Minnesota.

Herwig, B. R., M. A. Hanson, J. R. Reed, B. G. Parsons, A. J. Potthoff, M. C. Ward, K. D. Zimmer, M. G. Butler, D. W. Willis, and V. A. Snook. 2004. Walleye stocking as a tool to suppress fathead minnows and improve habitat quality in semipermanent and permanent wetlands in the prairie pothole region of Minnesota. Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Special Publication 159.

Jackson, J. R., J. C. Boxrucker, and D. W. Willis. 2004. Trends in agency use of propagated fishes as a management tool in inland fisheries. American Fisheries Society Symposium 44:121-138.

Olson, N. W., S. K. Wilson, and D. W. Willis. 2004. Effect of spatial variation on zooplankton community assessment in fishery studies. Fisheries (Bethesda) 29(4):17-22.

Paukert, C. P. and D. W. Willis. 2004. Environmental influences on largemouth bass Micropterus salmoides populations in shallow Nebraska lakes. Fisheries Management and Ecology 11:345-352.

Paukert, C. P., D. W. Willis, and M. A. Bouchard. 2004. Movement, home range, and site fidelity of bluegills in a Great Plains lake. North American Journal of Fisheries Management 24:154-161.

Ward, M. J., M. R. Anderson, S. J. Fisher, D. A. Isermann, Q. E. Phelps, and D. W. Willis. 2004. Relations between climatological variables and larval yellow perch abundance in eastern South Dakota glacial lakes. Journal of Freshwater Ecology 19:213-218.

Willis, D. W. 2004. Use of the case study method to enhance the educational experience for students. South Dakota State University Bush Project Anthology 1:38-41.

Billington, N., D. A. Isermann, R. N. Koigi, and D. W. Willis. 2003. How long can Stizostedion specimens remain in gillnets in summer before significant breakdown of diagnostic isozyme markers occurs? Gene Families and Isozymes Bulletin 36:20.

DeBates, T. J., C. P. Paukert, and D. W. Willis. 2003. Fish community responses to the establishment of a piscivore, northern pike Esox lucius, in a Nebraska Sandhill lake. Journal of Freshwater Ecology 18:353-359.

Hanchin, P. A., D. W. Willis, and T. R. St. Sauver. 2003. Influence of introduced spawning habitat on yellow perch reproduction in Lake Madison, South Dakota. Journal of Freshwater Ecology 18:291-297.

Isermann, D. A., J. R. Meerbeek, G. D. Scholten, and D. W Willis. 2003. Evaluation of three different structures used for walleye age estimation with emphasis on removal and processing times. North American Journal of Fisheries Management 23:625-631.

Olson, N. W., C. P. Paukert, D. W. Willis, and J. A. Klammer. 2003. Prey selection and diets of bluegill Lepomis macrochirus with differing population characteristics in two Nebraska natural lakes. Fisheries Management and Ecology 10:31-40.

Paukert, C. P. and D. W. Willis. 2003. Aquatic invertebrate assemblages in shallow prairie lakes: fish and environmental influences. Journal of Freshwater Ecology 18(4):523-536.

Paukert, C. P. and D. W. Willis. 2003. Population characteristics and ecological role of northern pike in shallow natural lakes in Nebraska. North American Journal of Fisheries Management 23:313-322.

Paukert, C. P., W. Stancill, T. J. DeBates, and D. W. Willis. 2003. Predatory effects of northern pike and largemouth bass: bioenergetic modeling and 10 years of fish community sampling. Journal of Freshwater Ecology 18:13-24.

Phelps, Q. E., D. A. Isermann, and D. W. Willis. 2003. Influence of hatch timing and daily growth rate on size structure of age-0 largemouth bass cohorts in Enemy Swim Lake, South Dakota. Proceedings of the South Dakota Academy of Science 82:35-41.

Schultz, D. W., D. A. Isermann, and D. W. Willis. 2003. Hatching dates and daily growth of age-0 black crappies in Pickerel Lake, South Dakota. Proceedings of the South Dakota Academy of Science 82:153-160.

Fisher, S. J., D. W. Willis, M. M. Olson, and S. C. Krentz. 2002. Flathead chubs, Platygobio gracilis, in the upper Missouri River: the biology of a species at risk in an endangered habitat. Canadian Field-Naturalist 116:26-41.

Paukert, C. P. and D. W. Willis. 2002. Seasonal and diel habitat selection by bluegills in a shallow natural lake. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 131:1131-1139.

Willis, D. W., C. P. Paukert, and B. G. Blackwell. 2002. Biology of white bass in eastern South Dakota glacial lakes. North American Journal of Fisheries Management 22:627-636.