My research interests include Applied fish ecology, Native species restoration and conservation, Invasive species control, Predator-prey interactions, and Life-history expression.

My primary current research involves boat electrofishing surveys to monitor fish assemblages in the Illinois and Mississippi rivers.  This research has been ongoing since the late 1950's. 

I am a co-Principle Investigator on research that involves understanding the underlying factors of a rapid biological invasion and how these can be exploited to limit the speed and spread of an invasion, which is key to enhancing and expanding the IDNR-led response and control efforts as well as expanding understanding of bigheaded carp effects and constraints. 

Illinois Experts Profile

International Postgraduate Research Award Recipient, University of New England, 2016-2019

Prairie Rivers Network's Outstanding Public Servant Award for 2018, awarded to INHS Rivers Team

Best Professional Presentation, 2018 annual meeting.  Illinois Chapter of the American Fisheries Society

Editor’s Choice selection (co-author) for: Ecological recovery of a river fish assemblage following the implementation of the Clean Water Act.  BioScience 67:957-970.

Othmer Fellowship Recipient, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2009-2011 

Graduate Dean’s Citation for Excellence, Grand Valley State University, 2008 – Outstanding Thesis in Biology

Co-author of Best Poster Presentation, Joint Conference of the Illinois Lakes Management Association and Illinois American Fisheries Society, 2016.

Mentored author of Best Poster Presentation, Undergraduate Creative Activities and Research Experiences (UCARE) Conference, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2011.

American Fisheries Society
North American Native Fishes Association
Mississippi River Research Consortium

American Fisheries Society

- Certified Fisheries Professional (2017-present)

- Illinois state representative to Walleye Technical Committee (2015-present)

- Co-editor of Illinois AFS quarterly newsletter (2015-present)

- Member of Illinois AFS Continuing Education Committee (2015-present)

- Nebraska state representative to Walleye (2009-2012) and Centrarchid (2009-2011) Technical Committees

- Past president of Cornhusker Student Sub-Unit (2011-2012)

- President of Cornhusker Student Sub-Unit (2010-2011)

- Member of Walleye (2009-present) and Centrarchid (2009-2012) Technical Committees

- Member of Early Life-History Section (2009-2012)

Phi Kappa Phi Academic Honor Society (2008)

DeBoer, J. A., K. L. Bouska, C. Wolter, M. C. Thoms.  2024.   Resilience-based challenges and opportunities for fisheries management in Anthropocene rivers, in Thoms, M. C. and Fuller I. C., eds.  Resilience and Riverine Landscapes.  Elsevier.  Pages 491-517.

 DeBoer, J. A., M. C. Thoms, and M. D. Delong.  2024.  The Anthropocene: rivers and resilience, in Thoms, M. C. and Fuller I. C., eds.  Resilience and Riverine Landscapes.   Elsevier.  Pages 209-228.

Whitten, A. L., B. S. Harris, J. A. DeBoer, N. N. McClelland, and J. T. Lamer.  2023.   New records of spotted bass, Micropterus punctulatus (Rafinesque, 1819), in the Mississippi River basin, Illinois.  Ecology and Evolution 13:e9777.  DOI: 10.1002/ece3.9777

 Harris, B. S., J. A. DeBoer, and J. T. Lamer.  2022.   Trophic reorganization of native planktivorous fishes at different density extremes of bigheaded carps in the Illinois and Mississippi rivers, USA.   Biological Invasions 24:3013-3031.   DOI: 10.1007/s10530-022-02822-6

 Whitten, A. L., J. A. DeBoer, S. Berry, C. Moody-Carpenter, B. J. Lubinski, N. P. Rude, J. H. Chick, R. E. Colombo, G. W. Whitledge, and J. T. Lamer.  2022.  Channel catfish and freshwater drum population demographics across four large midwestern rivers.  Journal of Freshwater Ecology 37(1):268-284. DOI: 10.1080/02705060.2022.2072008

 Lederman, N. J., S. A. Love, R. L. Anderson, J. A. DeBoer, and J. T. Lamer.  2022.  Assessing efficacy of using pectoral fin sexual dimorphism to determine bighead carp sex.  North American Journal of Fisheries Management. doi.org/10.1002/nafm.10798.

 DeBoer, J. A., M. C. Thoms, and M. D. Delong.  2021.  Ecosystem response through a resilience lens: do differences in the Illinois River over 150 y indicate regime shifts?  Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences, 126, e2021JG006553. doi.org/10.1029/2021JG006553.

DeBoer, J. A., M. C. Thoms, J. T. Lamer, A. F. Casper, and M. D. Delong.  2021.  Complex to simple: fish growth along the Illinois River network.  Ecological Complexity 45:100891.

 DeBoer, J. A., M. C. Thoms, M. D. Delong, M. E. Parsons, and A. F. Casper.  2020.  Spatial heterogeneity of ecosystem function in an “Anthropocene” river system.  Anthropocene.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ancene.2020.100252

 Whitten, A. L., J. A. DeBoer, L. E. Solomon, A K. Fritts, M. W. Fritts, R. M. Pendleton, T. D. Van Middlesworth, and A. F. Casper.  2020.  Spatial variation in bluegill population demographics in a highly modified large river system.  Journal of Freshwater Ecology 35:303-320.

DeBoer, J. A., M. C. Thoms, A. F. Casper, and M. D. Delong.  2019.  The response of fish diversity in a highly modified large river system to multiple anthropogenic stressors.  Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences 124:384-404.

DeBoer, J. A., A. M. Anderson, and A. F. Casper.  2018.  Multi-trophic response to invasive silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) in a large floodplain river.  Freshwater Biology 63:597–611.

VonBank, J. A., J. A. DeBoer, A. F. Casper, and H. M. Hagy.  2018.  Ichthyochory in a temperate river system by common carp (Cyprinus carpio).  Journal of Freshwater Ecology 33:83­–96.

Love, S. A., N. J. Lederman, R. L. Haun, J. A. DeBoer, and A. F. Casper.  2018.  Does aquatic invasive species removal benefit native fish? The response of gizzard shad (Dorosoma cepedianum) to commercial harvest of bighead carp (Hypophthalmichthys nobilis) and silver carp (H. molitrix).   Hydrobiologia 817:403-412.

Gibson-Reinemer, D. K., R. A. Sparks, J. A. DeBoer, M. W. Fritts, A. F. Casper, and J. H. Chick.  2017.  Ecological recovery of a river fish assemblage following the implementation of the Clean Water Act.  BioScience 67: 957-970.

*Selected as Editor’s Choice

Parker, J. L., M. W. Fritts, and J. A. DeBoer.  2018.  Length-weight relationships for small Midwestern US fishes.  Journal of Applied Ichthyology 34:1081–1083.

Fritts, M. W., A. K. Fritts, R. M. Pendleton, T. D. VanMiddlesworth, L. E. Solomon, J. A. DeBoer, and A. F. Casper.  2018.  Survey of intersex (testicular oocytes) in black crappie collected from the Illinois River Waterway.  Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management 9(2):659–665.

Fritts, M. W., J. A. DeBoer, D. K. Gibson-Reinemer, B. J. Lubinski, M. A. McClelland, and A. F. Casper. 2017.  Over a half-century of fish community monitoring in Illinois’ large rivers:  the evolution of methods used by the Illinois Natural History Survey’s Long-term Survey and Assessment of Large-River Fishes in Illinois Monitoring Program.  Illinois Natural History Survey Bulletin 41(1): 1–18.

Fritts, A. K., M. W. Fritts, W. R. Haag, J. A. DeBoer, and A. F. Casper.  2017.  Freshwater mussel shells (Unionidae) chronicle changes in a North American river over the past 1000 years.  Science of the Total Environment 575: 199-206.

Gibson-Reinemer, D. K., D. R. Stewart, A. F. Casper, M. W. Fritts, and J. A. DeBoer.  2016.  Estimating the effects of environmental variables and gear type on the detection and occupancy of large river fishes in a standardized sampling program using multi-season Bayesian mixture models.  North American Journal of Fisheries Management 36:1445-1456.

Fritts, M. W., J. A. DeBoer, A. K. Fritts, K. A. Kellock, R. B. Bringolf, and A. F. Casper.  2016.  Survey of intersex occurrence in Largemouth Bass (Micropterus salmoides) from the Upper Illinois River Waterway.  American Midland Naturalist 176 (1), 158-165.

DeBoer, J. A., C. M. Webber, T. A. Dixon, and K. L. Pope.  2016.  The influence of a severe reservoir drawdown on springtime zooplankton and larval fish assemblages in Red Willow Reservoir, Nebraska.  Journal of Freshwater Ecology 31:131-146.  DOI:10.1080/02705060.2015.1055312.

DeBoer, J. A. and K. L. Pope.  2015.  Factors influencing recruitment of walleye and white bass to three distinct early ontogenetic stages.  Ecology of Freshwater Fish.  DOI: 10.1111/eff.12229.

DeBoer, J. A., S. A. Ogren, J. M. Holtgren, and E. B. Snyder.  2015.  Movement and habitat use by mottled sculpin in a sand-dominated 1st-order stream following habitat restoration.  American Midland Naturalist 173:335-345.

DeBoer, J. A., J. J. Fontaine, C. J. Chizinski, and K. L. Pope.  2015.  Counterintuitive life-history expression in a highly variable environment.  Great Plains Research 25:25-38.

DeBoer, J. A., K. L. Pope, and K. D. Koupal.  2013.  Environmental factors regulating the recruitment of walleye Sander vitreus and white bass Morone chrysops in irrigation reservoirs.  Ecology of Freshwater Fish 22:43-54.

Martin,D. L., B. M. Pracheil, J. A. DeBoer, G. R. Wilde, and K. L. Pope.  2012.  Using the internet to understand angler behavior in the information age.  Fisheries 37:458-463.

DeBoer, J. A., S. A. Ogren, J. M. Holtgren, and E. B. Snyder.  2011.  A 100-year flood in a low-gradient Michigan stream: response of the resident and non-resident fish assemblages.  American Midland Naturalist 166:446-452.

Doctor of Philosophy
University of New England, 2016 - 2020
Major: Interdisciplinary River Science
Advisor: Dr. Martin C. Thoms
Thesis title: The character and resilience of an Anthropocene River

Master of Science
University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2009 – 2013 
Major: Natural Resource Sciences
Advisor: Dr. Kevin L. Pope
Thesis Title:  Recruitment of walleye (Sander vitreus) and white bass (Morone chrysops) in irrigation reservoirs

Master of Science
Grand Valley State University, 2006 – 2008
Major: Biology, emphasis in Fisheries
Advisor: Dr. Eric B. Snyder
Thesis Title:  Community response to habitat restoration in Bear and Sickle Creeks, with emphasis on mottled sculpin (Cottus bairdi) in Sickle Creek

Bachelor of Science
Grand Valley State University, 1996-2001
Major: Natural Resource Management
Minor: Engineering Science