In Memory of Craig Hieber1951 - 2002 |
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It is with great sadness that we report that our colleague and friend, Dr. Craig S. Hieber, passed away suddenly and unexpectedly Thursday, July 18, 2002 from an apparent pulmonary embolism. His passing is a shock and a profound loss to his colleagues in Arachnology, the faculty and students of Saint Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire where he was a Professor of Biology, as well as the community of Goffstown, NH, where Craig was very active as Chairman of the School Board. He was well-known and well-loved as a scientist, teacher, colleague and friend. Craig was a devoted family man, and is survived by his wife, Sherry, their two children, a sister and his parents. To all of us who knew him, Craig was "larger than life", and lived it with unparalleled zest and a consistently positive attitude. He could, at a moment's notice (and at great length) hold forth with energy, enthusiasm and humor on subjects ranging from spiders to sci-fi, biking to barbecue, cross-country skiing to classic rock. To say he will be missed is to understate the fact that life will be a lot less fun without him. Craig's website at St. Anselm's -- a glimpse into Craig's many activities
A trust fund is also being set up for his children's education. Members of the scientific community who would like to send a message of condolence to Craig's family may do so by e-mail to George.Uetz@uc.edu, or may contact them directly.
Photo: Craig with daughter Jana | |
Memorial donations will be accepted for:Professional Biography:
Dr. Hieber was Professor of Biology at Saint Anselm College in Manchester,
New Hampshire, where he has taught Biology, Ecology, Invertebrate Zoology
and Biostatistics since 1986. Dr. Hieber received his B.S. from Roanoke
College in 1975, M.S. in Biology from the University of North Dakota in
1979, and Ph.D. in Zoology from the University of Florida in 1984. His background
and research interests encompassed the ecology, behavior, physiology, and
evolution of spiders and other terrestrial arthropods. His research has
examined mating and reproductive strategies (in flies and spiders), parasite
foraging, spider egg-sac architecture, and the ecology, evolution and anti-predator
adaptations of colonial web-building spiders (see list below). He worked
on research in New Hampshire, North Dakota, Florida, Costa Rica, and (most
extensively) in Mexico, in a long-term collaboration with Dr. George Uetz
(University of Cincinnati). His work is published in numerous scientific
journals, including Evolution, Animal Behaviour, Behavioral Ecology, Ethology,
Oecologia and the Journal of Arachnology. Dr Hieber served as Associate
Editor of The American Midland Naturalist, and was a member of several scientific
societies, including the American Arachnological Society, the Ecological
Society of America and the Animal Behavior Society. 
Publications
Thesis and Dissertation:
Hieber, C.S. 1975. Web Orientation and Modification to Wind and Light in the Spiders Araneus diadematus and Araneus gemmoides (Araneae: Araneidae). M.S. Thesis, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND. 100 pp.
Hieber, C.S. 1984. The Role of Cocoons of Orb-weaving Spiders. Ph.D. Thesis, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL. 155 pp.
Research Papers:
Hieber, C.S. 1979. Short Communication: Web orientation to wind and light by the spiders Araneus diadematus and Araneus gemmoides (Araneae: Araneidae). Proceedings of the North Dakota Academy of Sciences, 31: 51.
Hieber, C.S. and J.A. Cohen. 1983. Sexual selection in the lovebug, Plecia nearctica: The role of male choice. Evolution, 37: 987-992.
Hieber, C.S. 1984. Scientific Notes: Egg predators of the cocoons of the spider Mecynogea lemniscata (Araneae: Araneidae): Rearing and population data. Florida Entomologist, 67: 176-178.
Hieber, C.S. 1984. Orientation and modification of the web to wind and light by the spiders Araneus diadematus and Araneus gemmoides (Araneae: Araneidae). Zeitschrift fur Tierpsychologie, 65: 250-260.
Hieber, C.S. 1985. The "insulation" layer in the cocoons of Argiope aurantia (Araneae: Araneidae). Journal of Thermal Biology, 10:171-175.
Caine, L. and C.S. Hieber. 1987. Research Note: Web orientation to light by the spider Mangora gibberosa (Araneae: Araneidae). Journal of Arachnology, 15: 263-265.
Hieber, C.S. and G.W. Uetz. 1990. Colony size and parasitoid load in two species of colonial Metepeira spiders from Mexico (Araneae: Araneidae). Oecologia, 82: 145-150.
Hieber, C.S. 1992. The role of spider cocoons in controlling desiccation. Oecologia, 89: 442-448.
Hieber, C.S. 1992. Spider cocoons and their suspension systems as barriers to generalist and specialist predators. Oecologia, 91: 530-535.
Uetz, G.W. and C.S. Hieber. 1994. Group size and predation risk in colonial web- building spiders: analysis of attack-abatement mechanisms. Behavioral Ecology, 5(3): 326-333.
Uetz, G.W., C.S. Hieber, E.M. Jakob, R. S. Wilcox, D. Kroeger, A. McCrate, and A. Mostrom. 1994. Behavior of orb-weaving spiders during a solar eclipse. Ethology, 96: 24-32.
Uetz, G.W. and C.S. Hieber. 1997. Colonial web-building spiders; balancing the costs and benefits of group living. (In J.C. Chou and B.J. Crespi, Eds. The Evolution of Social Behavior in Insects and Arachnids, Cambridge University Press.
Uetz, G.W., J. Boyle, C.S. Hieber, and R. Stimson Wilcox. 2002.Anti-predator benefits of living in colonial web-building spiders the 'early warning' effect. Animal Behavior. 63: 445-452
A personal note; Eulogy for Craig, read at his funeral by George Uetz:
Craig Hieber was well-known and well-loved as a scientist, teacher, colleague and friend. I have known Craig for 22 years, and he has been my research collaborator and partner in crime (a legal disclaimer - just a figure of speech) for 17 of them. In this time we have traveled together to Mexico on research and all over the U.S. to scientific meetings, and yes, even to New Jersey (where we both are from). As a scientist, Craig was well-regarded and respected by his peers, for his solid research and well-presented papers, for his careful review and editing of manuscripts and grant proposals, for his scientific curiosity and creative intellect, but especially for his irrepressible enthusiasm and wit. He liked to "rave" (as he called it) about ideas, which we did for many hours at a time during summer "science camp" in tropical Mexico, and as a result of these raves we have conducted studies and published a number of important scientific papers together.
For all that we might say about Craig, it must be understated, as he was not. To all of us who knew him, Craig was "larger than life", and he lived it with unparalleled zest and a consistently positive attitude. He could, at a moment's notice (and at great length) hold forth with energy, enthusiasm and humor on subjects ranging from spiders to sci-fi, biking to barbecue, cross-country skiing to classic rock. We have shared many adventures in Mexico, and since Craig was such a great storyteller, these tales have become embellished to the point of legend (at least in our minds), and I'm sure many of you have heard about them earthquakes, toxic caterpillars, the drunk guy on the tractor, the satanic imagery of the butcher shop in a Mexican market, the "George has a nightmare about a train" incident, and so on.
One of my favorite trips with Craig was to the International Behavioral Ecology Conference at Princeton University, where he presented a paper on a colonial spider- parasitoid fly interaction that literally "knocked everyone's socks off", and after which we drove in his huge station wagon down to the Jersey Shore, riding through the melon fields listening to Bruce Springsteen and engaged in a highly scientific debate about which kind of pie was the quintessential benchmark of a classic New Jersey diner was it coconut custard or lemon meringue? The debate remains unresolved For all our scientific achievements, we were just two guys from Jersey.
To say we will all miss him is an understatement; life and science -will be a lot less fun without him.
Other articles about Craig's life can be found at:
- St. Anselm's College website -- including links to Craig's web pages.
- The Manchester Union Leader
8 / 2 / 2002
Website from American Arachnolgical Society, Ken Prestwich (Holy Cross University)