Steven Schmidt
Professor
Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
steve.schmidt@colorado.edu
303-492-6248

Ramaley C306

Research Interests

Microbial ecology, biogeochemical cycles, and plant-microbe interactions. Theoretical (modeling) and experimental approaches are used to study the ecology of microorganisms in natural and disturbed systems. Active areas of research include: (1) microbial biogeochemistry of ecosystems in Colorado, Peru and Costa Rica, (2) the role of mycorrhizal fungi in the ecology of wild plants, and (3) biogeography and biodiversity of previously unknown microbial groups.

Schmidt, S.K., R.C. Lynch, A.J. King, D. Karki, M.S. Robeson, L. Nagy, M.W. Williams, M.S. Mitter & K.R. Freeman. 2010. Phylogeography of microbial phototrophs in the dry valleys of the high Himalayas and Antarctica. Proc. Roy Soc. B.

King, A.J., K.R. Freeman, K.F. McCormick, R.C. Lynch, C.A. Lozupone, R. Knight & S.K. Schmidt. 2010. Biogeography and habitat modelling of high-alpine bacteria. Nature Comm. 1:53 doi: 10.1038/ncomms1055.

King, A.J., D. Karki, L. Nagy, A. Racoviteanu & S.K. Schmidt. 2010. Microbial biomass and activity in high elevation (>5100 meters) soils of the Annapurna and Sagarmatha regions of the Nepalese Himalayas. Himalayan J. Sciences.

Nemergut, D.R., E.K. Costello, M. Hamady, C. Lozupone, L. Jiang, S.K. Schmidt, N. Fierer, A.R. Townsend, C.C. Cleveland, L. Stanish and R. Knight. 2010. Global patterns in the biogeography of bacterial taxa. Environ. Microbiol.

Gleason, F.H., S.K. Schmidt & A.V. Marano. 2010. Can zoosporic true fungi grow or survive in extreme or stressful environments? Extremophiles 14: 417-425.

Freeman, K.R., A.P. Martin, D. Karki, R.C. Lynch, M.S. Mitter, A.F. Meyer, J.E. Longcore, D.R. Simmons and S.K. Schmidt. 2009. Evidence that chytrids dominate fungal communities in high-elevation soils. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 106: 18315-18320.

Robeson, M.S., E.K. Costello, K.R. Freeman, J. Whiting, B. Adams A.P. Martin & S.K Schmidt. 2009. Environmental DNA sequencing primers for eutardigrades and bdelloid rotifers. BMC Ecology doi:10.1186/1472-6785-9-25.

Schmidt, S.K., D.R. Nemergut, A.E. Miller, K.R. Freeman, A.J. King, A. Seimon. 2009. Microbial activity and diversity during extreme freeze-thaw cycles in periglacial soils, 5400 m elevation, Cordillera Vilcanota, Per