Dr. Mark Fishbein
Professor and Herbarium Director
Dept. of Plant Biology, Ecology, and Evolution
301 Physical Sciences, Stillwater, OK 74078-3013, USA
405-744-4757
Teaching
PBIO 4005 Field Botany, fall semesters.
Prerequisite: BIOL 1114. Botanical field techniques, the vegetation of North America, and the flora of Oklahoma. Terminology of description, use of taxonomic keys, techniques of specimen preservation, field recognition of plant taxa and communities and controlling ecological factors, economic and wildlife significance of dominant taxa, principles of classification and nomenclature. Four weekend field trips required.
Current topics in the theory and application of genome and transcriptome sequencing to phylogenetics, prediction of gene function, and evolution of genes.
Reseach
The overarching context of my research program is to bridge the understanding that ecologists and evolutionary biologists have gained about how evolution operates within populations and the understanding that systematists and evolutionary biologists have gained about the patterns of biodiversity observed at large spatial and temporal scales. In pursuit of my research goals, I have conducted intensive studies on the phylogenetic relationships of milkweeds (Apocynaceae, Asclepiadoideae), selection on floral traits by pollinators, the dynamics of hybridization driven by variation in floral scent chemistry, and the evolution of defenses against herbivory. My approach emphasizes (1) phylogenetics analyses of plant lineages and (2) the inference and hypothesis testing of evolutionary and ecological processes that produce biological diversity.
Recent Publications
For most recent publication list, see Google Scholar
Gould, E., J. Sparks, M. Fishbein, and A. Agrawal. 2019. Integrated metabolic strategy: a mechanistic framework for predicting the evolution of carbon gain and water loss tradeoffs within plant clades. Journal of Ecology 107: 1633-1644.
Ollerton, J., et al. 2019. The diversity of pollination systems in large plant clades: Apocynaceae as a case study. Annals of Botany 123:311-325
Fishbein, M., T. Livshultz, S. C. K. Straub, A. O. Simões, J. Boutte, A. McDonnell, and A. Foote. 2018. Evolution on the backbone: Apocynaceae phylogenomics and new perspectives on growth form, flowers, and fruits. American Journal of Botany 105:495-513.
Fishbein, M., S. C. K. Straub, J. Boutte, K. Hansen, R. C. Cronn, and A. Liston. 2018. Evolution at the tips: Asclepias phylogenomics and new perspectives on leaf surfaces. American Journal of Botany 105:514-524.
Weitemier, K., Straub, SC., Fishbein, M., Bailey, CD., Cronn, RC., Liston, A. 2018. The genome and transcriptome of common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca): resources for evolutionary, ecological, and molecular studies in milkweeds and Apocynaceae. PeerJ Preprints 6:e26488v1.
Fishbein, M., Gandhi, KN. 2018. Typification of Sarcostemma heterophyllum and Nomenclatural Notes in North American Funastrum (Apocynaceae). Novon : A Journal for Botanical Nomenclature /, 26(2), 165.
Thompson, S. et al. 2018. Taxonomy based on science is necessary for global conservation. PLoS Biology 16(3):e2005075.
McDonnell, A., M. Parks, and M. Fishbein. 2018. Multilocus Phylogeny of New World Milkweed Vines (Apocynaceae, Asclepiadoideae, Gonolobinae) and the evolution of growth form. Systematic Botany., 43(1), 77.
Fishbein, M. 2017. Taxonomic adjustments in North American Apocynaceae. Phytologia 99:86-88. http://www.phytologia.org/uploads/2/3/4/2/23422706/99_2_86-88fishbeinapocynaceae.pdf
Chuba, D., D. Goyder, M. W. Chase, and M. Fishbein. 2017. Phylogenetics of the African Asclepias complex (Apocynaceae) based on three plastid DNA regions. Systematic Botany 42 (1), 148.
McDonnell, A., and M. Fishbein. 2016. Matelea hirtelliflora (Apocynaceae): a new species of milkweed vine from northeast Texas. Systematic Botany 41:781-786. http://www.bioone.org/doi/abs/10.1600/036364416X692460
McDonnell, A., and M. Fishbein. 2016. Polystemma canisferum (Apocynaceae, Asclepiadoideae): a distinctive new gonoloboid milkweed vine from Sonora, Mexico. Phytotaxa 246:78-84.
Pellissier, L., G. Litsios, M. Fishbein, N. Salamin, A. A. Agrawal, and S. Rasmann. 2016. Different rates of defense evolution and niche preferences in clonal and nonclonal milkweeds (Asclepias spp.). New Phytologist 209:1230-1239. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/nph.13649/
Agrawal, A. A., J. G. Ali, S. Rasmann, and M. Fishbein. 2015. Macroevolutionary trends in the defense of milkweeds against monarchs: latex, cardenolides, and tolerance of herbivory. Pages 47-59 in Oberhauser, K., S. Altizer, and K. Nail (eds.), Monarchs in a Changing World: Biology and Conservation of an Iconic Insect. Cornell University Press, Ithaca.
McDonnell, A., M. Fishbein, M. Quinn, T. Hare, and K. Keith. 2015. Matelea chihuahuensis (Apocynaceae): an addition to the flora of the United States and a synopsis of the species. Journal of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas 9:187-194.
Weitemier, K., S. C. K. Straub, M. Fishbein, and A. Liston. 2015. Intragenomic polymorphisms among high-copy loci: a genus-wide study of nuclear ribosomal DNA in Asclepias (Apocynaceae). PeerJ> 2:e718. http://dx.doi.org/10.7717/peerj.718