Education
- Ph.D, University of Wisconsin, Madison
Biography
Dr. Dan Larkin specializes in aquatic and wetland plant management and restoration. His research addresses applied problems concerning how to reduce the spread and impacts of invasive plant species and support the recovery of impacted areas through ecological restoration and management. His work with MAISRC involves research and extension outreach on risk assessment, control, and post-treatment restoration of aquatic habitats impacted by Eurasian watermilfoil, curly-leaf pondweed, non-native Phragmites, starry stonewort, and other invasive plants.
Dan serves as both the Research Chair of MAISRC and as a MAISRC research fellow. The review and administration of Dan's research proposals and projects with MAISRC are guided by the Conflict of Interest in Proposal Funding Policy. Questions about this policy can be directed to MAISRC Associate Director, Cori Mattke.
Research
- Evaluating native Phragmites as a wastewater treatment alternative
- Risk assessment, control, and restoration research on aquatic invasive plant species
- Meta-analysis of treatment outcomes to advance starry stonewort management in Minnesota
- Characterizing starry stonewort phenology, growth conditions, and impacts to guide management
- Building scientific and management capacity to respond to invasive Phragmites (common reed) in Minnesota
- Ecology and biology of invasive hybrid watermilfoil in northern tier waterbodies
Select Publications
- Verhoeven, M. R., Bartodziej, W. L., Berg, M. S., Blood, S., Crabb, R., Fieldseth, E., Johnson, J. A., Marty, J., McComas, S., Newman, R. M., Rattei, M., Sweet, J. B., Townsend, J., Vlach, B., Valenty, J., Spetzman, J. P., Witkowski, S. W., Prichard, A., Glisson, W. J., & Larkin, D. J. (2026). Occurrence and environmental data for aquatic plants of Minnesota from 1999–2018. Scientific Data. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-026-07027-3
- Larkin, D. J., Verhoeven, M. R., Walsh, J. R., & Johnson, J. A. (2026). Quantifying aquatic plant commonness and co-occurrence across scales to support ecological understanding and management. Journal of Ecology, 114(2), e70268. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.70268
- Glisson, W. J., Nault, M., Jurek, C., Fischer, E., Lund, K., Bloodsworth Cattoor, K., Londo, A., Kovar, N., Hauck-Jacobs, E., Egdell, R., McComas, S., Fieldseth, E., & Larkin, D. J. (2025). Evaluation of a decade of management of a North American aquatic invasive species (Nitellopsis obtusa) highlights scale-dependent effectiveness and monitoring gaps. FACETS, 10, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1139/facets-2024-0104
- Bajcz, A. W., Glisson, W. J., Doser, J. W., Larkin, D. J., & Fieberg, J. R. (2024). A within-lake occupancy model for starry stonewort, Nitellopsis obtusa, to support early detection and monitoring. Scientific Reports, 14(1). Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-52608-0
- Kinsley, A. C., Kao, S.-Y. Z., Enns, E. A., Escobar, L. E., Qiao, H., Snellgrove, N., Muellner, U., Muellner, P., Muthukrishnan, R., Craft, M. E., Larkin, D. J., & Phelps, N. B. D. (2024). Modeling the risk of aquatic species invasion spread through boater movements and river connections. Conservation Biology, n/a(n/a), e14260. https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.14260
- Larkin, D. J. (2024). Thin lines between native and invasive aquatic plants are common, posing challenges for response efforts. Journal of Applied Ecology, 61(10). https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.14752
- Thomas, S. M., Verhoeven, M. R., Walsh, J. R., Larkin, D. J., & Hansen, G. J. A. (2024). Improving species distribution forecasts by measuring and communicating uncertainty: An invasive species case study. Ecology, n/a(n/a), e4297. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.4297
- Verhoeven, M. R., Bacon, J. A., & Larkin, D. J. (2024). Effects of seed traits and dormancy break treatments on germination of four aquatic plant species. Aquatic Botany, 192. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquabot.2023.103746
- Isbell, F., Balvanera, P., Mori, A. S., He, J.-S., Bullock, J. M., Regmi, G. R., Seabloom, E. W., Ferrier, S., Sala, O. E., Guerrero-Ramírez, N. R., Tavella, J., Larkin, D. J., Schmid, B., Outhwaite, C. L., Pramual, P., Borer, E. T., Loreau, M., Omotoriogun, T. C., Obura, D. O., … Palmer, M. S. (2023). Expert perspectives on global biodiversity loss and its drivers and impacts on people. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 21(2), 94–103. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1002/fee.2536
- Weber, M. M., Larkin, D. J., & Mulcahy, P. (2022). Creating informed consumers of aquatic invasive species management programs through online education for nonprofessionals. Invasive Plant Science and Management, 15(1), 41–48. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1017/inp.2022.10