Research Ecologist and Chief, Ecosystem Dynamics Branch, NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory
Adjunct Professor, School of Natural Resources and the Environment,
University of Michigan
Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
4840 S. State Rd.
Ann Arbor MI 48108-9719
E-mail:
Phone: (734) 741-2284
FAX: (734) 741-2055
Interests are food web interactions, particularly feeding mechanisms and life cycle strategies of plankton and benthos; and spatial distribution and interactions of all food web components. Current research projects include: (1) zooplankton feeding and mechanisms; (2) dreissenid mussel feeding behavior, nutrient cycling, and ecosystem effects; (3) long-term trends in zooplankton populations;(4) impacts of the invasion of predatory cercopagids (Bythotrephes and Cercopagis) on Great Lakes food webs; and (5) changes in spatial structure and function of Great Lakes food webs as driven by stressors such as hypoxia and invasive species.
Participates as an advisor in National Research Council Resident Research Associateships (Postdoctoral) Program for postdocs interested in research areas described above.
Ph.D., Oregon State University, 1973, Biological Oceanography
M.S., University of Wisconsin, Madison, 1968, Zoology
B.S., Michigan Technological University, 1966, Biological Sciences
Pichlová-Ptácníková, R., and H.A. Vanderploeg. 2011. The quick and the dead: Might differences in escape rates explain the changes in the zooplankton community composition of Lake Michigan after invasion by Bythotrephes? Biological Invasions 13: 2595-2604.
Vanderploeg, H.A., Liebig, J.R., Nalepa, T.F. Fahnenstiel, and Pothoven, S.A. 2010. Dreissena and the disappearance of the spring phytoplankton bloom in Lake Michigan. J. Great Lakes Res. 36 (Supplement 3): 50-59.
Vanderploeg, H.A., Ludsin, S.A., Ruberg, S.A., Höök, T.O., Pothoven, S.A., Brandt, S.B., Lang, G.A., Liebig, J.R., and Cavaletto, J.F. 2009. Hypoxia affects spatial distributions and overlap of pelagic fish, zooplankton, and phytoplankton in Lake Erie. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 381: S92-S107
Vanderploeg, H.A., Ludsin, S.A., Cavaletto, J.F., Höök, T.O., Pothoven, S.A., Brandt, S.B., Liebig, J.R., and Lang, G.A. 2009. Hypoxic zones as habitats for zooplankton in Lake Erie: refuges from predation or exclusion zones. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 381: S108-S120.
Pichlová-Ptániková, R., and Vanderploeg H.A. 2009. The invasive cladoceran Cercopagis pengoi is a generalist predator capable of feeding on a variety of prey species of different sizes and escape abilities. Fundamental and Applied Limnology 173 (4): 267-279.
Vanderploeg, H.A., Johengen, T.H., and Liebig, J.R. 2009. Feedback between zebra mussel selective feeding and algal composition affects mussel condition: did the regime changer pay a price for its success? Freshwat. Biol. 54: 47-63.
Vanderploeg, H.A., Johengen, T.H., Lavrentyev, P.J., Chen, C., Lang, G.A., Agy, M.A., Bundy, M.H., Cavaletto, J.F., Eadie, B.J., Liebig, J.R. Miller, G.S., Ruberg, S.A., and McCormick, M.J. 2007. Anatomy of the recurrent coastal plume in Lake Michigan and its impacts to light climate, plankton and nutrients. J. Geophysical Res. – Oceans: doi:10.1029/2004JC002379, 2007
Bundy, M.H., Vanderploeg, H.A., Lavrentyev, P.J., and Kovalcik, P.A. 2005. The importance of microzooplankton versus phytoplankton to copepod populations during late winter and early spring in Lake Michigan. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 62: 2371-2385.
Vanderploeg, H.A., and Roman, M.R. 2006. Introduction to special section on Analysis of Zooplankton Distributions Using the Optical Plankton Counter. J.G.R.-Oceans 111(C5): Art No. C05S01 Mar 18 2006.
Pothoven, S.A., and Vanderploeg, H.A. Prey selection and diet of alewife in Lake Michigan: seasonal, spatial, and interannual patterns. 2004. Trans. Amer. Fish. Soc. 133: 1068-1077.
Bundy, M.H. and H.A. Vanderploeg. 2002. Detection and capture of inert particles by calanoid copepods: the role of the feeding current. J. Plankton Res. 24: 215-223.
Vanderploeg, H.A., T.F. Nalepa, D.J. Jude, E.L. Mills, K.T. Holeck, J.R. Liebig, I.A. Grigorovich, and H. Ojaveer. 2002. Dispersal and ecological impacts of Ponto-Caspian species in the Great Lakes. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. (in press).
Vanderploeg, H. A., J. R. Liebig, W. W. Carmichael, M. A. Agy, T. H. Johengen, G. L. Fahnenstiel, and T. F. Nalepa. 2001. Zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) selective filtration promoted toxic Microcystis blooms in Saginaw Bay (Lake Huron) and Lake Erie. Can J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 58: 1208-1221.
Bundy, M. H., T. F. Gross, H. A. Vanderploeg and J. R. Strickler. 1998. Perception of inert particles by calanoid copepods: Behavioral observations and a numerical model. J. Plankton Res. 20: 2129-2152.
Vanderploeg, H. A., J. F. Cavaletto, J. R. Liebig, and W. S. Gardner. 1998. Limnocalanus macrurus (Copepoda: Calanoida) retains a marine arctic lipid and life-cycle strategy in Lake Michigan. J. Plankton Res. 20: 1581-1597.
Vanderploeg, H. A., J R. Liebig, and A. A. Gluck. 1996. Evaluation of different phytoplankton for supporting development of zebra mussel larvae (Dreissena polymorpha): The importance of size and polyunsaturated fatty acid content. J. Great Lakes Res. 22: 36-45.
Liebig, J R., and H. A. Vanderploeg. 1995. Vulnerability of Dreissena polymorpha larvae to predation by Great Lakes copepods: The importance of the bivalve shell. J. Great Lakes Res. 21: 353-358.
Vanderploeg, H. A., J R. Liebig, and T. F. Nalepa. 1995. From picoplankton to microplankton: Temperature driven filtration by the unionid bivalve Lampsilis radiata siliquoidea in Lake St. Clair. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 52: 63-74.
Vanderploeg, H. A. 1994. Zooplankton particle selection and feeding mechanisms, p. 205-234. In R S Wotton (ed.) The biology of particles in aquatic systems, second edition. Lewis Publishers, Boca Ratton.
Vanderploeg, H. A., J. R. Liebig, and M. Omair. 1993. Bythotrephes predation on Great Lakes’ zooplankton measured by an in situ method: implications for community structure. Arch. fur Hydrobiologie. 127: 1-8.
Vanderploeg, H. A., W. S. Gardner, C. C. Parrish, J. R. Liebig, and J. F. Cavaletto. 1992. Lipids and life-cycle strategy of a hypolimnetic copepod in Lake Michigan. Limnol. Oceanogr. 37: 4l3-424.
Vanderploeg, H. A., G.-A. Paffenhofer, and J. R. Liebig. 1990. Concentration-variable interactions between calanoid copepods and particles of different food quality, p. 595-613. In R. N. Hughes (ed.) Behavioral mechanisms of food selection. Springer Verlag, Heidelberg, New York.
Vanderploeg, H. A., G.-A. Paffenhofer, and J. R. Liebig. 1988. Diaptomus vs. net phytoplankton: Effects of algal size and morphology on selectivity of a behaviorally flexible, omnivorous copepod. Bull. Mar. Sci. 43: 377-394.
Vanderploeg, H. A., and G.-A. Paffenhofer. l985. Modes of algal capture by the freshwater copepod Diaptomus sicilis and their relation to food-size selection. Limnol. Oceanogr. 30:87l-885.
Vanderploeg, H. A., D. Scavia, and J. R. Liebig. l984. Feeding rate of Diaptomus sicilis and its relation to selectivity and effective food concentration in algal mixtures and in Lake Michigan. J. Plankton Res. 6:9l9-94l.
Bowers, J. A., and H. A. Vanderploeg. l982. In situ predatory behavior of Mysis relicta in Lake Michigan. Hydrobiologia 93: 121-131.
Last updated Jan 11, 2012