Mike Retzer--Illinois Natural History Survey

Mike Retzer
		1816 S. Oak Street Champaign, IL 61820 MC–652 Phone: 217-244-4494 Fax: 217-333-4949 Email: mretzer@inhs.uiuc.edu Title: Collection Manager and Curator Unit: DBEE–SBSM Office Location: NRB
Activities		Collection Manager of the INHS fish collection. I am an ichthyologist.

Research		Currently, I am studying the historical changes of the fish fauna of the state of Illinois and actively assisting in the restoration of native communities in lakes along the Illinois River. In addition, I am interested in the conservation of fishes and aquatic communities and methods of measuring biodiversity. I occasionally present lectures to the students of the University of Illinois and advise graduate students. I give tours of the fish collection and speak to groups about a variety of subjects concerning fishes. I also provide professional advice to various organizations including the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, The Nature Conservancy and Forest Service. Finally, I study the taxonomy of some catfishes found in South America and Africa.


Professional affiliations		Member of: American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists; Illinois State Academy of Science; Sigma Xi; Society for Conservation Biology; The Environmental Council, University of Illinois

Selected publications		Favret, C., K.S. Cummings, R.J. McGinley, E.J. Heske, K.P. Johnson, C.A. Phillips, L.R. Phillippe, M.E. Retzer, C.A. Taylor, and M.J. Wetzel. In Press. Profiling natural history collections: a method for quantitative and comparative health assessment. Collection Forum. Retzer, M.E. 2008. Geographic variation in Parauchenoglanis ngamensis (Boulenger 1911), (Siluriformes: Auchenoglanididae). Philadelphia Academy Natural Sciences 157:45-50. Retzer, M.E. 2006. A new species of Farlowella Eigenmann and Eigenmann (Siluriformes: Loricariidae), a stickcatfish from Bolivia. Zootaxa 1282:59-68. Retzer, ME and B. Batten. 2005. Fishes of the Chicago region: a review of the Dennison and Illinois Natural History Survey Collections. Trans. Illinois State Acad. Sci. 98:63-73. Retzer, ME. 2005. Description of a new species of Acestridium (Siluriformes:Loricariidae) from Colombia. Zootaxa 972:1-6. Retzer, M. E. 2005. Changes in the diversity of native fishes in seven basins in Illinois, USA. American Midland Naturalist 153:128-141.

Program Affiliates		Adjunct Professor, Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

Professional society involvement and activities		I review manuscripts and proposals for a number of societies and organizations including the Field Museum, Florida Museum of Natural History, Illinois State Academy of Sciences, American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, Philadelphia Academy Natural Sciences, Indiana Academy of Science, Illinois Natural History Survey, Smithsonian Institution, National Science Foundation (USA), Neotropical Ichthyology, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, and Zootaxa. I am a member of the Illinois Endangered Species Protection Board and am the chair of the Illinois Fish Endangered Species Technical Committee.

Education		PhD, Biology, University of Illinois, 1994 MA, Zoology, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, 1981 BS, Biology, Bradley University, Peoria IL, 1978