Brent Stoffer

Brent Stoffer is a Research Fellow at the University of Cincinnati, specializing in animal behavior with a focus on sexual selection and multimodal communication in invertebrates. His research explores how social environments and sensory experiences shape mating behaviors, particularly in wolf spiders (Schizocosa ocreata). He employs innovative playback techniques to study behavioral plasticity and investigates the neurobiological mechanisms underlying these behaviors using biogenic amines like octopamine and serotonin.

Education:

• B.S. in Biology, University of California, Los Angeles (2008)
• M.S. in Biological Sciences, California State University, Fullerton (2011)
• Ph.D. in Biological Sciences, University of Cincinnati (2015)

Research interests revolve around factors influencing mate-choice plasticity in spiders, including juvenile experience, sensory modality availability, and male quality. He examines how social contexts like mate density or operational sex ratios drive adaptive behavioral changes. Collaborating with Dr. George Uetz's lab, his work integrates experimental field and laboratory studies to test sexual selection theories.

Grants:

• PI of Ohio Strong Start in Science grants (2024–2028) totaling $150,000 to support early STEM education initiatives.

Labs/Teams: Active contributor to the Uetz lab, leveraging decades of spider behavior research to advance understanding of multimodal communication and neuroendocrine control of behavior.