John Mischler

I am formally trained across the sciences (Ecology PhD, Geosciences MS, Geology/Physics/Math BA) and my work and teaching have centered around the environmental effects of agriculture and their ramifications for human health and well-being. For example I have worked on: (i) the effects of agriculturally-induced sedimentation on the littoral zone of Lake Tanganyika East Africa (an important fishery), (ii) analysis of ice core methane isotopes for signs of agricultural forcing of the methane cycle over that last 2 millennia, (iii) the effects of consistent phosphorus loading from feed lots and cropping systems on pervasive nitrogen limitation in impacted freshwater systems, (iv) the effects of nutrient pollution and anthropogenic change on the prevalence of the parasite that causes Schistosomiasis (vectored by an aquatic snail), (v) land use and nutrient loads in tributaries of the Susquehanna river, and (vi) the effects of fragmentation on the prevalence and distribution of tick-borne disease.

I am devoted to on-farm education. Agricultural systems serve as rich education opportunities because so many relevant subject areas intersect across the farm landscape (i.e. nutrient cycling, botany, entomology, soil science, parasitology, water rights/law, water quality, environmental justice, sociology – just to name a few). Also, EVERYONE has a personal connection to food. Using agriculture as an educational tool is immediately accessible to any student and promotes the kinds of cross-disciplinary critical thinking important for today’s graduates. I see so much potential in the use of agriculturally-based curriculum, not only in raising a citizenry that is better equipped to make decisions regarding food system policy and personal consumer choice, but also a citizenry that has a better understanding of the interconnectedness of scientific disciplines through the highly relatable topic of agriculture!

Education

• Ph.D., University of Colorado Boulder, 2014

Selected Publications

• McGovern, E. , J. Mischler, M. Bird, and J. Huffman. Ticks and tick-borne pathogens of black bears (Ursus americanus) from northeastern Pennsylvania. (2016). Journal of Pennsylvania Academy of Sciences. 90(2), p56-61
• Mischler, J. A., P. T. J. Johnson, V. McKenzie, and A. R. Townsend. Parasitic infection by Cotylurus flabelliformis alters aquatic nitrogen cycling at the ecosystem scale. (2016). J Anim Ecol. 85, p817-828
• Preston, D. L., J. A. Mischler, A. R. Townsend, and P. T. J. Johnson. Disease ecology meets ecosystem science. (2016). Ecosystems. 10.1007/s10021-016-9965-2, p1-12
• Preston, D. L., P. Taylor, N. Brown, and J. Mischler. Using the scientific process to engage students about our changing planet. (2015). Science Scope Apr/May, p33-42
• Mischler, J. A., P. Taylor, and A. R. Townsend. Nitrogen Limitation in a Pond
• Complex on the Plains of Eastern Colorado. (2014). PLoS ONE 9(5): e95757. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0095757
• McGlue, M.M., M.J. Soreghan, E. Michel, J.A. Todd, A.S. Cohen, J. A. Mischler, C.S. O’connell, O.S. Castaneda, R.J. Hartwell, H.H. Nkotagu, K.E. Lezzar. (2010). Environmental controls on rift lake shell carbonates: A view from Lake Tanganyika”s littoral, Palaios, v. 25, no. 7, 426-438, doi: 10.2110/palo.2009.p09-160r
• Mischler, J. A., T. A. Sowers, R. B. Alley, M. Battle, J. R. McConnell, L. Mitchell, T. Popp, E. Sofen, and M. K. Spencer (2009), Carbon and hydrogen isotopic composition of methane over the last 1000 years, Global Biogeochem. Cycles, 23, GB4024, doi:10.1029/2009GB003460.
• Walker, R.T., A. Bayasgalan, R. Carson, R. Hazelett, L. McCarthy, J. Mischler, E. Molor, P. Sarantsetseg, L. Smith, B. Tsogtbadrakh, G. Tsolmon, (2006), Geomorphology and structure of the Jid right-lateral strike-slip fault in the Mongolian Altay mountains. J Struct Geol. 28 (9), 1607-1622