Directory

Reuben P. Keller, PhD

About

Reuben Keller has been on faculty in the Department of Environmental Science since August, 2011. Prior to this, he held the Henry Chandler Cowles lectureship (2009–2011) in the Program on the Global Environment at the University of Chicago. Post-doctoral and research positions before this were at the University of Notre Dame (2007–2009) and Cambridge University (2006–2007). Keller completed his PhD in David Lodge’s lab at the University of Notre Dame (2001–2006). He grew up in Australia, and became interested in freshwater ecology and invasive species during his undergraduate degrees at Monash University (Melbourne, Australia), and especially while working in Professor Sam Lake’s lab.

Degrees

• BA/BSc(Hons) Monash University Australia
• PhD (Ecology) University of Notre Dame

Research Interests

Keller is interested in the ecological, economic and social causes and consequences of species invasions. One main focus of his research is the development of risk assessment tools for predicting the identity of species that are likely to become invasive if they are spread beyond their native range. Presently, he's working as part of a large project to produce such risk assessment tools for all aquatic taxa currently being introduced to the Laurentian Great Lakes Basin through trade. Additionally, he is working with economist collaborators to calculate the economic benefits from removing these invasive species from trade. Another ongoing project is investigating the implications of invasive species for international environmental justice.

Keller spends a lot of time meeting and working with policy-makers at the city, state, regional and national levels to ensure that his research addresses important questions, and that his results are communicated to those who can use them.

Professional & Community Affiliations

• Associate editor of journal Diversity and Distributions
• External reviewer for Shedd Aquarium research proposals
• Member of Loyola University Chicago Landscape and LUREC land use committees

Courses Taught

• ENVS 101: The Scientific Basis of Environmental Issues
• ENVS 137: Foundations of Environmental Science
• ENVS 226:  Science & Conservation of Freshwater Ecosystems
• ENVS 288: Applied Interdisciplinary Data Analysis

Selected Publications

Edited Volumes:

Keller RP, M Cadotte & G Sandiford. Invasive Species in a Globalized World. In Review.

Peer-reviewed Journal Articles:

Keller RP & C Perrings. 2011. International policy options for reducing the environmental impacts of invasive species. BioScience 61:1005–1012.

Springborn M, CM Romagosa & RP Keller. 2011. The value of non-indigenous species risk assessment in international trade. Ecological Economics. 70:2145–2153.

Keller RP, J Geist, JM Jeschke & I Kühn. 2011. Invasive species in Europe: ecology, status and policy. Environmental Sciences Europe 23:23.

For a complete list of publications, awards, and affiliations, please see his CV.