Ranjan Muthukrishnan

Ranjan Muthukrishnan
Research Fellow
Assistant Professor of Biology, St. Olaf College
he/him
[email protected]
Ranjan Muthukrishnan: Website
Education
  • B.A. Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley
  • Ph.D. Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles
  • Postdoctoral Research Associate, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities

Areas of Interest

Aquatic invasive plants, dynamics of major shifts in ecological communities

Biography

Dr. Muthukrishnan’s research focuses on the dynamics of major shifts in ecological communities, such as the impacts of biological invasions, and particularly in the context of anthropogenic influences on natural systems. He addresses these topics using a combination of observational studies, manipulative experiments, and theory development, synthesized through computational models. He also integrates natural science and social science methods in studying environmental decision-making with a particular focus on management of aquatic invasive plants in Midwestern lakes.

Select Publications

Muthukrishnan, R., & Kalinowski, C. (2025). Warming conditions reduce the impacts of an aquatic invasive macrophyte across a latitudinal gradient. Journal of Ecology, n/a(n/a). https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.70171
 
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
 
McCumber, A., Sullivan, A., Houser, M. K., & Muthukrishnan, R. (2023). Are lakes a public good or exclusive resource? Towards value-based management for aquatic invasive species. Environmental Science and Policy, 139, 130–138. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2022.10.022
 
Glisson, W. J., Muthukrishnan, R., Wagner, C. K., & Larkin, D. J. (2022). Invasive Nitellopsis obtusa (starry stonewort) has distinct late-season phenology compared to native and other invasive macrophytes in Minnesota, USA. Aquatic Botany, 176. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquabot.2021.103452
 
Muthukrishnan, R., & Larkin, D. J. (2020). Invasive species and biotic homogenization in temperate aquatic plant communities. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 29(4), 656–667. https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.13053
 
Muthukrishnan, R., Hansel-Welch, N., & Larkin, D. J. (2018). Environmental filtering and competitive exclusion drive biodiversity-invasibility relationships in shallow lake plant communities. Journal of Ecology, 106(5), 2058–2070. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.12963
 
Glisson, W. J., Wagner, C. K., McComas, S. R., Farnum, K., Verhoeven, M. R., Muthukrishnan, R., & Larkin, D. J. (2018). Response of the invasive alga starry stonewort (Nitellopsis obtusa) to control efforts in a Minnesota lake. Lake and Reservoir Management, 34(3), 283–295. https://doi.org/10.1080/10402381.2018.1442893
 
Muthukrishnan, R., Sleith, R. S., Karol, K. G., & Larkin, D. J. (2018). Prediction of starry stonewort (Nitellopsis obtusa) invasion risk in upper Midwest (USA) lakes using ecological niche models. Aquatic Botany, 151, 43–50. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquabot.2018.08.001