Research

Restoration Ecology. The Center for Earth and Environmental Science (CEES) has initiated many projects designed to restore degraded habitats to a more natural configuration. As the Center's Assistant Director, I have assumed oversight of the Lilly ARBOR - a riparian forest restoration project initiated twenty-plus years ago with the planting of 1342 saplings (representing twelve species) along an 8 acre section of the White River adjacent to campus (If you've ever wondered, ARBOR is an acronym: answers for restoring the banks of our river). My students and I are investigating the development of the young forest, including survival and reproduction of the original trees, recruitment of new individuals to the site, and beaver impacts.

Biodiversity. I am involved in a long-term study investigating declines in abundance and diversity of litter arthropods; ground-dwelling spiders are the focal taxon of this investigation.

Physiological & Community Ecology. I study predator-prey-plant interactions with a focus on the dynamics of pollination-based systems. Using flower-dwelling spiders as my focal predators, I have examined how flowers affect predator-prey dynamics (bottom-up impacts) and how predator presence affects reproduction in host plants (top-down effects). Because the abiotic environment sets the stage on which ecological plays are enacted, I have also examined impacts of abiotic factors, such as temperature and wind speed, on spider-insect interactions.

Public Participation in Scientific Research (PPSR). I am interested in encouraging science literacy, community engagement in science, and environmental stewardship through PPSR (also known as citizen science or community science).

Teaching

I have taught a variety of courses at other institutions, including Invertebrate Zoology, Ecology, Environmental Biology, Introductory Biology (I and II), Introductory Ecology & Evolution, Limnology, and Biology of Spiders. I currently teach Service Learning in Geology (G-199), Wetland Ecosystems (G-431), and guide Senior Capstone research (G-495).

Education

Ph.D., Ecology & Evolution, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 1996

B.S., Biological Sciences, Wright State University, 1990

Publications & Professional Activity

Schmalhofer VR. 2011. Impacts of temperature, hunger, and reproductive condition on metabolic rates of flower-dwelling crab spiders (Araneae, Thomisidae). Journal of Arachnology 39: 41-52.

Schmalhofer VR. 2001. Tritrophic interactions in a pollination system: impacts of species composition and size of flower patches on the hunting success of a flower-dwelling spider. Oecologia 129: 292-303.

Schmalhofer VR. 2000. Diet-induced and morphological color changes in juvenile crab spiders (Araneae, Thomisidae). Journal of Arachnology 28: 56-60.

Schmalhofer VR and Casey TM. 1999. Crab spider hunting performance is temperature insensitive. Ecological Entomology 24: 345-353.

Schmalhofer VR. 1999. Thermal tolerances and preferences of the crab spiders Misumenops asperatus and Misumenoides formosipes (Araneae, Thomisidae). Journal of Arachnology 27: 470-480.

Robinson GR, Handel SN, and Schmalhofer VR. 1992. Survival, reproduction, and recruitment of woody plants after fourteen years on a reforested landfill. Environmental Management 16: 265-271.

Schmalhofer VR, Amon JP, and Runkle JR. 1992. The vascular flora of a transect across the Beaver Creek Wetlands, Greene County, Ohio. Ohio Journal of Science 92: 14-24.

Other Products

Schmalhofer VR. "Common Winter Birds of Central Indiana: Birds of Forests and Forest Edges." Center for Earth and Environmental Science, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, February 2021 (revised February 2023), https://cees.iupui.edu/doc/common-winter-birds-of-central-indiana-2023.pdf.

Schmalhofer V. "17 year cidadas are back." Center for Earth and Environmental Science, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, 21 June 2021, https://blogs.iu.edu/cees/2021/06/21/17-year-cicadas-are-back/#more-1015

Schmalhofer V. "Incorporating charismatic megafauna in the classroom." Center for Earth and Environmental Science, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, 8 May 2020, https://blogs.iu.edu/cees/2020/05/08/incorporating-charismatic-megafauna-in-the-classroom/#more-996

Schmalhofer V. "Public participation in scientific research." Center for Earth and Environmental Science, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, 6 June 2019, https://blogs.iu.edu/cees/2019/06/06/public-participation-in-scientific-research/#more-900

Schmalhofer V. "Why birds matter." Center for Earth and Environmental Science, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, 11 February 2018, https://blogs.iu.edu/cees/2018/02/11/why-birds-matter/#more-755

Affiliations

Ecological Society of America

American Arachnological Society

Entomological Society of America