Dr. John D. Shepherd
Professor Emeritus of Biology
Dr. John D. Shepherd came to Mercer with a variety of educational and personal experiences. He grew up near New York City, spent a year of high school at the Cambridge Grammar School for Boys in England, and attended a liberal arts college in Virginia. After college at schools for political refugees, he taught biology and general science in Zambia and mathematics in Tanzania. He did botanical field work in the forests of southeastern Mexico and studied ant ecology in wet forests of northern Colombia. Early in his retirement, he and his wife lived in northwestern Patagonia, Argentina, where they studied small mammals in an Andean forest, and he taught courses at the Universidad Nacional del Comahue. They now live in southwest Florida.
Education
- Ph.D., Botany and Zoology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin
- M.A., Geography (GIS), State University of New York, Buffalo, New York
- M.S., Botany and Zoology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin
- B.S., Biology, College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia
Specialty
Ecology, botany, conservation, plant-animal interactions
Professional Interests
In his 28 years at Mercer, Dr. Shepherd taught both interdisciplinary courses and biology. He directed the environmental science program and a freshman course in scientific inquiry. In biology, he taught advanced courses in botany, ecology, evolution, populations, and conservation. Dr. Shepherd has collaborated in studies of the small mammals and seed dispersal in Araucaria (pewen) forests of Argentina. More recently, he contributed to Galápagos Islands conservation efforts as a volunteer at the Charles Darwin Research Station.
Recent Publications
- Sanguinetti, J, RS Ditgen, SRD Calderón, MA Hadad, L Gallo, ME González, JT Ibarra, A Ladio, S Lambertucci, P Marchelli, IA Mundo, M Nuñez, A Pauchard, P Puchi, MA Relva, O Skewes, JD Shepherd, K Speziale, ML Velez, MAS Salomón, & C Zamorano-Elgueta. 2023. Información científica clave para la gestión y conservación del ecosistema biocultural del Pewén en Chile y Argentina. Bosque 44(1):179-190. [Key scientific information for the management and conservation of the Pewen biocultural ecosystem in Chile and Argentina.]
- Jaramillo, P, JD Shepherd, R Heleno. 2021. Guía de Semillas y Propágulos de Galápagos. (ISBN: 978-9978-53-069-6). Guide to Galapagos Seeds and Propagules. (ISBN: 978-9978-53-070-2). Publication 2291, Charles Darwin Foundation, Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz, Galapagos, Ecuador.
- Shepherd, JD & RS Ditgen. 2016. Small mammals and microhabitats in Araucaria forests of Neuquén, Argentina. Mastozoología Neotropical. 23(2):467-482.