Publications
52. Barakat, S., Williams K., Willmes M., Desclaux E., & Britton, K. (2025). Multi-Isotope Analysis of Mammalian Fauna from the Middle Pleistocene (MIS6) Lazaret Cave: Palaeoecological, Palaeoenvironmental and Archaeological Implications. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 68: 105456. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2025.105456.
51. Evans, K. R., Whitman, G., Willmes, M., Holmes, E., Cordoleani, F., Jeffres, C. A., & Johnson, R. C. (2025). Reconstructing Salmon growth trajectories through biochronologies across a highly variable growthscape. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, cjfas-2024-0139. https://doi.org/10.1139/cjfas-2024-0139
50. Willmes, M., Cordoleani, F., Sturrock, A. M., Chen, E. K., Satterthwaite, W. H., Johnson, R. C., Eerkens, J. W., Whitman, G., Jeffres, C., Palkovacs, E. P., Ruiz Jr, J. J., Hobbs, J. A., Lewis, L. S., & Rosenthal, J. (2025). Archeological evidence across four millennia indicates recent erosion of Chinook salmon age structure in California. Marine Ecology Progress Series. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps14972
49. Ghere, C. L., Willmes, M., Hardy, R. S., Ross, T. J., Dunnigan, J. L., Wilson, S. M., Carleton, S. A., & Quist, M. C. (2025). Population Structure and Movement Dynamics of Redband Trout in the Kootenai River Basin. River Research and Applications, rra.70027. https://doi.org/10.1002/rra.70027
48. Hitt, L. G., Willmes, M., Whitman, G., Miner, M. C., Jeffres, C., Johnson, R. C., Cocherell, D. E., Fangue, N. A., & Rypel, A. L. (2025). Early evidence for establishment of a Chinook salmon population in a restored watershed. Ecosphere, 16(3), e70207. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.70207
47. James, H. F., Willmes, M., Fabre, M., Courtaud, P., Rey, K., Balasse, M., Grün, R., & Snoeck, C. (2025). Environmental sampling to capture bioavailable strontium isotope distributions on Corsica. Applied Geochemistry, 190, 106511. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeochem.2025.106511
46. Lewis, L. S., Denney, C. T., Cavole, L. M., Lama, A. W., Chung, C. Y., Zhao, F., Hobbs, J. A., Willmes, M., Hung, T.-C., Glessner, J. J., Teh, S., & Hammock, B. G. (2025). Otolith-based comparisons of wild versus hatchery-origin delta smelt. Endangered Species Research, 57, 467–480. https://doi.org/10.3354/esr01422
45. Lewis, L., Willmes, M., Denney, C., Cavole, L., Xieu, W., Fichman, R., Hung, T., Ellison, L., Stevenson, T., Schultz, A., Hammock, B., Teh, S., & Hobbs, J. (2025). Validating estuarine movements from otoliths for an imperiled fish. Aquatic Biology. https://doi.org/10.3354/ab00773
44. Cordoleani, F., Phillis, C. C., Sturrock, A. M., Willmes, M., Whitman, G., Holmes, E., Weber, P. K., Jeffres, C., & Johnson, R. C. (2024). Restoring freshwater habitat mosaics to promote resilience of vulnerable salmon populations. Ecosphere, 15(3), e4803. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.4803
43. Ghere, C. L., Quist, M. C., Hardy, R. S., Willmes, M., Lewis, L. S., Wilson, S. M., & Smith, T. W. (2024). An evaluation of fin ray microchemistry to describe movement of White Sturgeon in the Kootenai River basin: Insights and limitations. Frontiers in Freshwater Science, 2, 1475115. https://doi.org/10.3389/ffwsc.2024.1475115
42. Hugentobler, S. A., Sturrock, A. M., Willmes, M., Thompson, T. Q., Johnson, R. C., Cordoleani, F., Stauffer‐Olsen, N. J., Whitman, G., & Meek, M. H. (2024). Remnant salmon life history diversity rediscovered in a highly compressed habitat. Evolutionary Applications, 17(7), e13741. https://doi.org/10.1111/eva.13741
41. Whitman, G., Messner, J., Johnson, R. C., Willmes, M., Kennedy, B. P., & Jeffres, C. (2024). Forensic geochemistry identifies the illegal introduction of Walleye into Lake Cascade, Idaho. North American Journal of Fisheries Management, nafm.10985. https://doi.org/10.1002/nafm.10985
40. Willmes, M., Sturrock, A. M., Cordoleani, F., Hugentobler, S., Meek, M. H., Whitman, G., Evans, K., Palkovacs, E. P., Stauffer‐Olsen, N. J., & Johnson, R. C. (2024). Integrating otolith and genetic tools to reveal intraspecific biodiversity in a highly impacted salmon population. Journal of Fish Biology, jfb.15847. https://doi.org/10.1111/jfb.15847
39. Källo, K., Birnie‐Gauvin, K., Baktoft, H., Bekkevold, D., Lesher, C., Grønkjær, P., Barfod, G. H., Johnson, R., Whitman, G., Willmes, M., Glessner, J., & Aarestrup, K. (2024). Otolith microchemistry combined with genetics reveal patterns of straying and population connectivity in anadromous brown trout ( Salmo trutta ). Ecology of Freshwater Fish, eff.12760. https://doi.org/10.1111/eff.12760
38. Barakat, S., Le Corre, M., Willmes, M., Cohen, J., Vuillien, M., Desclaux, E., & Britton, K. (2023). Laser ablation strontium isotopes and spatial assignment show seasonal mobility in red deer (Cervus elaphus) at Lazaret Cave, France (MIS 6). Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 11, 988837. https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2023.988837
37. Reis-Santos, P., Gillanders, B. M., Sturrock, A. M., Izzo, C., Oxman, D. S., Lueders-Dumont, J. A., Hüssy, K., Tanner, S. E., Rogers, T., Doubleday, Z. A., Andrews, A. H., Trueman, C., Brophy, D., Thiem, J. D., Baumgartner, L. J., Willmes, M., Chung, M.-T., Johnson, R. C., Heimbrand, Y., … Walther, B. D. (2023). Reading the biomineralized book of life: Expanding otolith biogeochemical research and applications for fisheries and ecosystem-based management. Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries, 0123456789. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11160-022-09720-z
36. Vaisvil, A., Willmes, M., Enriquez, E. J., Klein, Z. B., & Caldwell, C. A. (2023). A needle in a haystack: Strontium isotopes (87Sr/86Sr) in otoliths identify origin of Largemouth Bass from a large Southwest reservoir. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, cjfas-2023-0148. https://doi.org/10.1139/cjfas-2023-0148
35. Barros, A., Hobbs, J. A., Willmes, M., Parker, C. M., Bisson, M., Fangue, N. A., Rypel, A. L., & Lewis, L. S. (2022). Spatial Heterogeneity in Prey Availability, Feeding Success, and Dietary Selectivity for the Threatened Longfin Smelt. Estuaries and Coasts. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-021-01024-y
34. Campbell, M. A., Joslin, S. E. K., Goodbla, A. M., Willmes, M., Hobbs, J. A., Lewis, L. S., & Finger, A. J. (2022). Polygenic Discrimination of Migratory Phenotypes in an Estuarine Forage Fish. G3 Genes|Genomes|Genetics. https://doi.org/10.1093/g3journal/jkac133
33. James, H. F., Adams, S., Willmes, M., Mathison, K., Ulrichsen, A., Wood, R., Valera, A. C., Frieman, C. J., & Grün, R. (2022). A large-scale environmental strontium isotope baseline map of Portugal for archaeological and paleoecological provenance studies. Journal of Archaeological Science, 142(April), 105595. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2022.105595
32. James, H. F., Griffith, J. I., Long, K., Cheung, C., & Willmes, M. (2022). The Secrets in our Teeth. Frontiers for Young Minds, 10. https://doi.org/10.3389/frym.2022.749555
31. Lewis, L. S., Huang, J. L., Willmes, M., Fichman, R. A., Hung, T.-C., Ellison, L. T., Stevenson, T. A., Teh, S. J., Hammock, B. G., Schultz, A. A., Grimsich, J. L., Huyskens, M. H., Yin, Q.-Z., Cavole, L. M., Botto, N. W., & Hobbs, J. A. (2022). Visual, spectral, and microchemical quantification of crystalline anomalies in otoliths of wild and cultured delta smelt. Scientific Reports, 12(1), 20751. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-22813-w
30. Saygın, S., Polat, N., Willmes, M., Lewis, L. S., Hobbs, J. A., Atıcı, A. A., & Elp, M. (2022). Strontium isotopes in otoliths reveal a diversity of natal origins for Tarek (Alburnus tarichi) in Lake Van, Turkey. Fisheries Research, 255(May), 106441. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fishres.2022.106441
29. Sellheim, K., Willmes, M., Lewis, L. S., Sweeney, J., Merz, J., & Hobbs, J. A. (2022). Diversity in Habitat Use by White Sturgeon Revealed Using Fin Ray Geochemistry. Frontiers in Marine Science, 9(March), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2022.859038
28. Bell-Tilcock, M., Jeffres, C. A., Rypel, A. L., Willmes, M., Armstrong, R. A., Holden, P., Moyle, P. B., Fangue, N. A., Katz, J. V. E., Sommer, T. R., Conrad, J. L., & Johnson, R. C. (2021). Biogeochemical processes create distinct isotopic fingerprints to track floodplain rearing of juvenile salmon. Plos One, 16(10), e0257444. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0257444
27. Fichman, R. A., Khen, A., Willmes, M., Kuntz, J., Scott, A. R., Hobbs, J. A., & Lewis, L. S. (2021). The Clever Strategies That Fishes Use to Survive in San Francisco’s Dynamic Estuary. Frontiers for Young Minds, 9. https://doi.org/10.3389/frym.2021.608881
26. Griffin, J. M., Montañez, I. P., Glessner, J. J. G., Chen, J., & Willmes, M. (2021). Geologic variability of conodont strontium isotopic composition quantified by laser ablation multiple collection inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 568, 110308. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2021.110308
25. Lewis, L., Denney, C., Willmes, M., Xieu, W., Fichman, R., Zhao, F., Hammock, B., Schultz, A., Fangue, N., & Hobbs, J. (2021). Otolith-based approaches indicate strong effects of environmental variation on growth of a Critically Endangered estuarine fish. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 676, 37–56. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps13848
24. Willmes, M., Jacinto, E. E., Lewis, L. S., Fichman, R. A., Bess, Z., Singer, G., Steel, A., Moyle, P., Rypel, A. L., Fangue, N., Glessner, J. J. G., Hobbs, J. A., & Chapman, E. D. (2021). Geochemical Tools Identify the Origins of Chinook Salmon Returning to a Restored Creek. Fisheries, 46(1), 22–32. https://doi.org/10.1002/fsh.10516
23. Xieu, W., Lewis, L. S., Zhao, F., Fichman, R. A., Willmes, M., Hung, T., Ellison, L., Stevenson, T., Tigan, G., Schultz, A. A., & Hobbs, J. A. (2021). Experimental validation of otolith-based age and growth reconstructions across multiple life stages of a critically endangered estuarine fish. PeerJ, 9, e12280. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.12280
22. Britton, K., Le Corre, M., Willmes, M., Moffat, I., Grün, R., Mannino, M. A., Woodward, S., & Jaouen, K. (2020). Sampling Plants and Malacofauna in 87Sr/86Sr Bioavailability Studies: Implications for Isoscape Mapping and Reconstructing of Past Mobility Patterns. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 8(December), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2020.579473
21. Moffat, I., Rudd, R., Willmes, M., Mortimer, G., Kinsley, L., McMorrow, L., Armstrong, R., Aubert, M., & Grün, R. (2020). Bioavailable Soil and Rock Strontium Isotope Data from Israel. Earth System Science Data Discussions, July, 1–16. https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2020-162
20. Sweeney, J. K., Willmes, M., Sellheim, K., Lewis, L. S., Hobbs, J. A., Fangue, N. A., & Merz, J. E. (2020). Ontogenetic patterns in the calcification and element incorporation in fin rays of age-0 White Sturgeon. Environmental Biology of Fishes. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-020-01031-1
19. Adams, S., Grün, R., McGahan, D., Zhao, J.-X., Feng, Y., Nguyen, A., Willmes, M., Quaresimin, M., Lobsey, B., Collard, M., & Westaway, M. C. (2019). A strontium isoscape of north-east Australia for human provenance and repatriation. Geoarchaeology. https://doi.org/10.1002/gea.21728
18. Hobbs, J. A., Lewis, L. S., Willmes, M., Denney, C., & Bush, E. (2019). Complex life histories discovered in a critically endangered fish. Scientific Reports, 9(1), 16772. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-52273-8
17. James, H. F., Willmes, M., Boel, C. A., Courtaud, P., Chancerel, A., Ciesielski, E., Desideri, J., Bridy, A., Wood, R., Moffat, I., Fallon, S., McMorrow, L., Armstrong, R. A., Williams, I. S., Kinsley, L., Aubert, M., Eggins, S., Frieman, C. J., & Grün, R. (2019). Who’s been using my burial mound? Radiocarbon dating and isotopic tracing of human diet and mobility at the collective burial site, Le Tumulus des Sables, southwest France. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 24(March), 955–966. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2019.03.012
16. Lewis, L. S., Willmes, M., Barros, A., Crain, P. K., & Hobbs, J. A. (2019). Newly discovered spawning and recruitment of threatened Longfin Smelt in restored and under‐explored tidal wetlands. Ecology, ecy.2868. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.2868
15. Moncel, M.-H., Fernandes, P., Willmes, M., James, H., & Grün, R. (2019). Rocks, teeth, and tools: New insights into early Neanderthal mobility strategies in South-Eastern France from lithic reconstructions and strontium isotope analysis. PLOS ONE, 14(4), e0214925. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0214925
14. Willmes, M., Lewis, L. S., Davis, B. E., Loiselle, L., James, H. F., Denny, C., Baxter, R., Conrad, J. L., Fangue, N. A., Hung, T., Armstrong, R. A., Williams, I. S., Holden, P., & Hobbs, J. A. (2019). Calibrating temperature reconstructions from fish otolith oxygen isotope analysis for California’s critically endangered Delta Smelt. Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry, 33(14), 1207–1220. https://doi.org/10.1002/rcm.8464
13. Bataille, C. P., von Holstein, I. C. C., Laffoon, J. E., Willmes, M., Liu, X.-M., & Davies, G. R. (2018). A bioavailable strontium isoscape for Western Europe: A machine learning approach. PLOS ONE, 13(5), e0197386. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0197386
12. Willmes, M., Bataille, C. P., James, H. F., Moffat, I., McMorrow, L., Kinsley, L., Armstrong, R. A., Eggins, S., & Grün, R. (2018). Mapping of bioavailable strontium isotope ratios in France for archaeological provenance studies. Applied Geochemistry, 90, 75–86. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeochem.2017.12.025
11. Willmes, M., Hobbs, J. A., Sturrock, A. M., Bess, Z., Lewis, L. S., Glessner, J. J. G., Johnson, R. C., Kurth, R., & Kindopp, J. (2018). Fishery collapse, recovery, and the cryptic decline of wild salmon on a major California river. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 75(11), 1836–1848. https://doi.org/10.1139/cjfas-2017-0273
10. Willmes, M., Ransom, K. M., Lewis, L. S., Denney, C. T., Glessner, J. J. G., & Hobbs, J. A. (2018). IsoFishR: An application for reproducible data reduction and analysis of strontium isotope ratios (87Sr/86Sr) obtained via laser-ablation MC-ICP-MS. PLOS ONE, 13(9), e0204519. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0204519
09. Goude, G., Willmes, M., Wood, R., Courtaud, P., Leandri, F., Cesari, J., & Grün, R. (2017). New Insights into Mesolithic Human Diet in the Mediterranean from Stable Isotope Analysis: The Sites of Campu Stefanu and Torre d’Aquila, Corsica. International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, 27(4), 707–714. https://doi.org/10.1002/oa.2578
08. Sellheim, K., Willmes, M., Hobbs, J. A., Glessner, J. J. G., Jackson, Z. J., & Merz, J. E. (2017). Validating Fin Ray Microchemistry as a Tool to Reconstruct the Migratory History of White Sturgeon. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society, 146(5), 844–857. https://doi.org/10.1080/00028487.2017.1320305
07. Willmes, M., Glessner, J. J. G., Carleton, S. A., Gerrity, P. C., & Hobbs, J. A. (2016). 87Sr/86Sr isotope ratio analysis by laser ablation MC-ICP-MS in scales, spines, and fin rays as a nonlethal alternative to otoliths for reconstructing fish life history. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 73(12), 1852–1860. https://doi.org/10.1139/cjfas-2016-0103
06. Willmes, M., Grün, R., Douka, K., Michel, V., Armstrong, R. A., Benson, A., Crégut-Bonnoure, E., Desclaux, E., Fang, F., Kinsley, L., Saos, T., & Defleur, A. R. (2016). A comprehensive chronology of the Neanderthal site Moula-Guercy, Ardèche, France. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 9, 309–319. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2016.08.003
05. Willmes, M., Kinsley, L., Moncel, M.-H., Armstrong, R. A., Aubert, M., Eggins, S., & Grün, R. (2016). Improvement of laser ablation in situ micro-analysis to identify diagenetic alteration and measure strontium isotope ratios in fossil human teeth. Journal of Archaeological Science, 70, 102–116. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2016.04.017
04. Sturm, S., Kenkmann, T., Willmes, M., Pösges, G., & Hiesinger, H. (2015). The distribution of megablocks in the Ries crater, Germany: Remote sensing, field investigation, and statistical analyses. Meteoritics & Planetary Science, 50(1), 141–171. https://doi.org/10.1111/maps.12408
03. Willmes, M., McMorrow, L., Kinsley, L., Armstrong, R. A., Aubert, M., Eggins, S., Falguères, C., Maureille, B., Moffat, I., & Grün, R. (2014). The IRHUM (Isotopic Reconstruction of Human Migration) database – bioavailable strontium isotope ratios for geochemical fingerprinting in France. Earth System Science Data, 6(1), 117–122. https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-6-117-2014
02. Benson, A., Kinsley, L., Willmes, M., Defleur, A. R., Kokkonen, H., Mussi, M., & Grün, R. (2013). Laser ablation depth profiling of U-series and Sr isotopes in human fossils. Journal of Archaeological Science, 40(40), 2991–3000. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2013.02.028
01. Willmes, M., Reiss, D., Hiesinger, H., & Zanetti, M. (2012). Surface age of the ice–dust mantle deposit in Malea Planum, Mars. Planetary and Space Science, 60(1), 199–206. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pss.2011.08.006
Selected Reports
4. Lewis, LS, Malte Willmes, Christian Denney, Christina Parker, Micah Bisson, Arthur Barros, James Hobbs. 2019. Interdisciplinary Studies on Longfin Smelt in the San Francisco Bay Estuary. Report to the California Department of Water Resources, Contract No. 4600011196, 130 pp.
3. James A. Hobbs, Christian Denney, Levi Lewis, Malte Willmes, Wilson Xieu, Andrew Schultz, Oliver Burgess. 2019. Chapter 4 – Exploring life history diversity of Delta Smelt during a period of extreme environmental variability. In A.A. Schultz, editor. Directed Outflow Project Technical Report 1. U. S. Bureau of Reclamation, Bay-Delta Office, Mid-Pacific Region, Sacramento, CA. Technical Report, August 2019, 402 pp.
2. James A. Hobbs, Christian Denney, Levi Lewis, Malte Willmes, Wilson Xieu, Andrew Schultz, Oliver Burgess. 2019. Chapter 5 – Environmental and ontogenetic drivers of growth in a critically-endangered species. In A.A. Schultz, editor. Directed Outflow Project Technical Report 1. U. S. Bureau of Reclamation, Bay-Delta Office, Mid-Pacific Region, Sacramento, CA. Technical Report, August 2019, 402 pp.
1. Lewis, LS, Malte Willmes, Christian Denney, Christina Parker, Micah Bisson, Arthur Barros, James Hobbs. 2018. Interdisciplinary Studies on Longfin Smelt in the San Francisco Bay Estuary. Report to the California Department of Water Resources, Contract No. 4600011196, 44 pp.