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Education:
Ph.D.; Ecology with environmental ethics emphasis, University of Georgia, Athens, GA
M.S.; Environmental Science, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
B.A.; Biology, DePauw University, Greencastle, IN
Faculty Bio:
When I visited AC for the first time I was impressed with the students, staff, and faculty colleagues. Having the opportunity to work with these passionate and compassionate people was definitely the hook that brought me to Sherman, Texas. My best moments at work are being there when students have insights or ask nuanced, complex questions. I have also had the great fortune of being able to co-teach with professors from other disciplines. It is especially rewarding to make new connections among the different fields with the students driving the questions. I believe that having a personal connection with students is vital to the educational dialogue and this is best achieved in the smaller classes and the friendly campus we have here at AC.
Courses Taught:
- BIO 115 – Evolution, Animal Behavior, and Ecology
- ENVS 135 – Fundamentals of Environmental Studies
- PSCI 230 – Globalization (Team taught with political science professor)
- BIO 346 – Ecosystem Ecology
- BIO 100 – Natural History of the Hawaiian Islands (JanTerm team taught with another biology professor)
- BIO 100 – Florida Everglades Ecology and Natural History (JanTerm team taught with another biology professor)
Research Interests:
There’s been recent attention to “microbiomes” and how the community of microorganisms that live in and on humans affects our health. Similarly, I am interested in how the community of microorganisms in and on the soil interacts with plants and other soil organisms to affect processes like energy flow and nutrient cycling which affect the ecosystem’s health. Along with faculty colleagues (Kelly Reed, Peter Schulze) and several AC students, I study soils and their microbial communities under human management, specifically agriculture and restoration. Does the soil microbiome change with management such as prescribed burning or cattle grazing? Will changes in who is in the microbiome or how the microbiome functions help restore the native Blackland prairie plants? Will the early signs of restoration be seen in the way the microbes change (either in composition or in function)? These research questions and others are what we study at the college’s own prairie restoration site just 18 miles from campus.
Links of Interest:
In the News:
Publications:
Kisselle, K. W., K. E. Reed, A. J. Horton, L. S= t. Clair, and R. Stone. Effects of plant species and soil characteristics o= n rhizosphere microbial community structure in North Texas prairies. Ecolog= ical Society of America National Meeting. August 2011.
Kisselle, K.W., R.G. Zepp, R.A. Burke, A. Pinto, M.M.C. Bustamante, S. Opsa= hl, R. F. Varella, and L. T. Viana. 2002. Seasonal soil fluxes of carbon m= onoxide in burned and unburned Brazilian savannas. Journal of Geophysical = Research.
Faculty Extras:
- Sponsor of ECOS
- Supporter and advocate for THINK (especially AC unplugged, GreenServe)
- Regular attend and occasionally speak at Texoma EarthDay, Friends of Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge talks
- Attend & support: AC sport events (Go Roos!), AC Choir concerts, Sherman Symphony, AC theater, improv & campus art shows, Austin College Great Day of Service
- Member of the North Texas Concert Chorale