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Profile for Ross Vander Vorste

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Ross Vander Vorste

Pronouns: He/His/Him
Associate Professor
Biology University of Wisconsin-La Crosse

Ross Vander Vorste's office hours

Monday
2:15 p.m. to 3:15 p.m.
or by appointment
Tuesday
By appointment only
Wednesday
2:15 p.m. to 3:15 p.m.
or by appointment
Thursday
By appointment only
Friday
By appointment only
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Ross Vander Vorste Pronouns: He/His/Him

Associate Professor

Biology

Specialty area(s)

aquatic invertebrates, freshwater ecology, disturbance ecology, community ecology, conservation biology

Brief biography

My lab studies the effects of disturbances (natural and human-induced) on biological communities and freshwater ecosystems using field studies, laboratory experiments, and existing datasets. We have a strong research focus on invertebrates because they are incredibly diverse, found in many freshwater habitats, and are excellent indicators of environmental conditions.

If you are interested in joining the lab for undergraduate or graduate research, please contact me by email or phone.

Current courses at UWL

Freshwater Invertebrate Zoology (Bio 414/514) - includes lecture and lab

Ecology (Bio 307)

Organismal Biology (Bio 203)- includes lecture and lab

Capstone Seminar (Bio 491)

Education

PhD Ecology (2015) University of Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Lyon, France

M.S. Biological Sciences (2010) South Dakota State University, Brookings, S.D.

B.S. Environmental Management (2006) South Dakota State University, Brookings, S.D.

Career

Research and publishing

Google Scholar Profile

ResearchGate Profile

Most Recent Papers:

Vander Vorste, R., R. Stubbington, V. Acuna, M.T. Bogan, N. Bonada, N. Cid, T. Datry, R. Storey, P. J. Wood, and A. Ruhi. 2021 Climatic aridity increases temporal nestedness of invertebrate communities in naturally drying rivers. Ecography 44:1-10.

Vander Vorste, R., M. Obedzinski, S. Nossaman-Pierce, S. Carlson, and T. Grantham. 2020. Refuges and ecological traps: extreme drought threatens persistence of an endangered fish in intermittent streams. Global Change Biology. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.15116.

Mermillod-Blondin, F., P. Marmonier, M. Tenaille, D.G., Lemoine, M. Lafont, R. Vander Vorste, L. Simon, and L. Volatier. 2020. Bottom-up processes control benthic macro-invertebrate communities and food web structure of fishless artificial wetlands. Aquatic Ecology.

Vander Vorste, R., R. Sarrajame, T. Datry. 2019. Intermittent rivers & ephemeral streams: a unique biome with important contributions to biodiversity and ecosystem services, Reference module in Earth Systems and Environmental Sciences. Elsevier. doi:10.1016/B978-0-12-409548-9.12054-8. 

von Schiller D., T. Datry, R. Corti, A. Foulquier, K. Tockner, …, Vander Vorste, R.,… 2019. Sediment Respiration Pulses in Intermittent Rivers and Ephemeral Streams. Global Biogeochemical Cycles 33: 1251-1263. doi: 10.1029/2019GB006276.

Vander Vorste, R., A.J. Timpano, C. Cappellin, B. Badgley, C. Zipper, and S. Schoenholtz. 2019. Microbial and macroinvertebrate communities, but not leaf decomposition, change along a mining-induced salinity gradient. Freshwater Biology 00:1–14.

Shumilova, O., D. Zak, T. Datry, A. Foulquier, R. Corti, D. von Schiller,  K. Tockner,…, R. Vander Vorste,….2019. A global analysis of leached nutrients and organic matter in IRES. Global Change Biology. doi: 10.1111/gcb.14537.

Marshall, J.C., V. Acuña, D.C. Allen, N. Bonada, A.J. Boulton, S.M. Carlson, C.N. Dahm, T. Datry, C. Leigh, P. Negus, J.S. Richardson, S. Sabater, A. L. Steward, R. Stubbington, K. Tockner, and R. Vander Vorste. 2018. Protecting US river health by maintaining the legal status of temporary waterways. Science 361(6405): 856-857.doi:10.1126/science.aav0839.

Datry, T., A. Foulquier, R. Corti, D. von Schiller, K. Tockner, …, R. Vander Vorste,… 2018. A global perspective of terrestrial plant material dynamics in non-perennial waterways. Nature Geoscience 11, 497–503.

Kudos

named

Ross Vander Vorste, Biology, received a teaching grant from the Freshwater Collaborative of Wisconsin. The River Studies Field Course will provide 10–20 undergraduate students, aka River Scholars, a transformative opportunity to learn about Wisconsin’s Grand Water Challenges in August 2026. Accompanied by instructors and student trip leaders, scholars will embark in canoes on a three-day river trip where they will learn basic skills in river navigation and safety while building strong teamwork and problem-solving skills. During the trip, scholars will participate in a diverse set of instructor-led field lessons and meet industry, non-profit and agency professionals that will introduce them to careers from a variety of freshwater disciplines. The river trip will culminate with an in-depth experience on UW-La Crosse’s Research Vessel Prairie Springs, where students will learn to use state-of-the-art river research and monitoring equipment.

Submitted on: Aug. 11

interviewed

Ross Vander Vorste, Biology, was interviewed by WEAU 13 News on Aug. 4. Ross discussed UWL's connection to federal agencies working on the Upper Mississippi River that are facing budget cuts.

Submitted on: Aug. 5

presented

Ross Vander Vorste, Biology, and Sara Strassman, Trout Unlimited, presented "Desiccation-resistant phytoplankton, zooplankton, and macroinvertebrates: implications for transporting dredged sediments from the Upper Mississippi River" at the Upper Mississippi River Conservation Committee Annual Conference on March 19 in La Crosse, WI.

Submitted on: April 21

presented

Ross Vander Vorste, Biology, presented "Aquatic insect emergence in dynamic floodplain habitats of the Upper Mississippi River" at Mississippi River Research Consortium on April 17 in La Crosse, WI.

Submitted on: April 21

published

Ross Vander Vorste, Biology, co-authored the article "Variable inundation across Earth's terrestrial ecosystems" in "Biogeosciences," published on Feb. 24 by European Geosciences Union. In this collaborative effort, we explored similarities among variably inundated ecosystems, including hillslopes, non-perennial streams, wetlands, floodplains, temporary ponds, tidal systems, storm-impacted coastal zones and human-engineered systems.

Submitted on: Feb. 27

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