Aaron L. Mills
Professor · Ph.D. Cornell University, 1976
Contact Information
- Office: 213 Clark Hall
- 434-924-0564
- amills@virginia.edu
Active projects examine the microbial transformations of contaminants and trophic transfer of energy through microorganisms. A main line of inquiry deals with bacteria in the subsurfce (groundwater) environment. Current projects include field and laboratory investigations of hydrological factors controlling the transient removal of agricultural nitrate in sediments of low-relief coastal streams, and the role of autotrophic microbes in the dissolution of carbonates in submerged caves. Close collaboration with physical scientists (hydrologists, geochemists) is an important part of research in microbial ecology of the surface and subsurface. An additional line of research examines spatial relationships within microbial communities with respect how that structure determines the fulfillment of the microbe’s role in the ecosystem. Phenomena such as redundancy, congeneric homotaxis, stability, and resiliency are examined in model ecosystems that simulate natural microbial habitats to exploit microbial processes for renovation of domestic wastewater.
Recent Publications
Gu, C., G. M. Hornberger, A. L. Mills, J. S Herman, and S. A. Flewelling 2007, Nitrate reduction in streambed sediments: Effects of flow and biogeochemical kinetics, Water Resour. Res., 43, W12413, doi:10.1029/2007WR006027.
Gu, C., G.M. Hornberger, A.L. Mills, J.S. Herman.2008. The effect of freshets on the flux of groundwater nitrate through streambed sediments. Water Resour. Res. 44, W05415, doi:10.1029/2007WR006488.
Levine L.H., H. Kasahara , J. Kopka , A. Erban, I. Fehrl, F. Kaplan, W. Zhao, R.C. Littell, C. Guy, R. Wheeler, J. Sager, A. L. Mills, H. G. Levine. 2008. Physiologic and metabolic responses of wheat seedlings to elevated and super-elevated carbon dioxide. Adv. Space Res. 42:1917-1928.
Gu, C., G.M. Hornberger, J.S. Herman, and A.L. Mills . 2008. Influence of stream-groundwater interactions in the streambed sediments on NO3- flux to a low-relief coastal stream. Water Resour. Res. 44, W11432, doi:10.1029/2007WR006739.
Franklin, R.B. and A.L. Mills. 2009. Importance of spatially-structured environmental heterogeneity in controlling microbial community composition at small spatial scales in an agricultural field. Soil Biol. Biochem. 41:1833-1840.
Franklin, R.B., and A.L. Mills. 2007. Distribution of microbes and microbial communities. Springer, Dordrecht. 333 pp.
Teaching
Microbial Ecology
Soil Science
Physical Hydrology
Ecology of Pathogens