Robert Fleischer

Biology

Adjunct Professor, (National Zoo)

Contact

Email: fleischerr@si.edu
Office Phone: 202.633.4190
Fax: 202.673.0040
Office Address: National Zoological Park, Smithsonian Institution, 3001 Connecticut Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20008-0551, USA
URL: http://www.mnh.si.edu/GeneticsLab/StaffPage/FleischerR/FleischerR.html

Graduate Program Affiliations

  • BISI - Behavior, Ecology, Evolution, & Systematics (BEES)

Research Interests

My primary research interests are in the evolutionary and conservation biology of birds and mammals, including studies of the genetic aspects of interactions of pathogens with their vectors and hosts, phylogeography and systematics, and the application of molecular markers to studies of kinship and behavior.

Recent Publications

  • Durrant, K. L., Marra, P. P., Fallon, S. M., Colbeck, G. J., Gibbs, H. L., Hobson, K. A., Norris, D. R., Bernik, B., Lloyd, V. L. & Fleischer, R. C. 2008. Parasite assemblages distinguish populations of a migratory passerine on its breeding grounds. Journal of Zoology 274: 318-326.
  • Archie, E. A., J. E. Maldonado, J. A. Hollister-Smith, J. H. Poole, C. J. Moss, R. C. Fleischer and S. C. Alberts. 2008. Fine-scale population genetic structure in a fission-fusion society. Molecular Ecology 17:2666–2679.
  • Fleischer, R. C., H. F. James, and S. L. Olson. 2008. Convergent evolution of Hawaiian and Australo-Pacific honeyeaters from distant songbird ancestors. Current Biology 18:1927-1931.
  • Zwiers, P. B., G. Borgia and R. C. Fleischer. 2008. Plumage based classification of the bowerbird genus Sericulus evaluated using a multi-gene, multi-genome analysis. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 46:923-931.
  • Percy, D. M., Garver, A. m., Wagner, W. L., James, H. F., Cunningham, C. W., Miller, S. E. & Fleischer, R. C. 2008. Progressive island colonization and ancient origin of Hawaiian Metrosideros (Myrtaceae). Proceedings of the Royal Society, Series B. 275:1479-1499.
  • Dumbacher, J. P., K. Deiner, L. Thompson and R. C. Fleischer. 2008. Phylogeny of the avian genus Pitohui and the evolution of toxicity in birds. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 49:774-781.
  • Eggert, L. S., L. A. Terwilliger, B. L. Woodworth, P. J. Hart, D. Palmer and R. C. Fleischer. 2008. Genetic structure along an elevational gradient in Hawaiian honeycreepers reveals contrasting evolutionary responses to avian malaria. BMC Evolutionary Biology 8:315.
  • Pagenkopp, K. M., J. Klicka, K. L. Durrant, J. C. Garvin and R. C. Fleischer. 2008. Geographic variation in malarial parasite lineages in the common yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas). Conservation Genetics 9:1577-1588.
  • Wright, T. F., E. E. Schirtzinger, T. Matsumoto, J. R. Eberhard, G. Graves, J. J. Sanchez, S. Capelli, H. Müller, J. Scharpegge , G. K. Chambers and R. C. Fleischer. 2008. A multi-locus molecular phylogeny of the parrots (Psittaciformes): Support for a Gondwanan origin during the Cretaceous. Molecular Biology and Evolution 25:2141-2156.
  • Renner, S. C., Rappole, J. H., Rasmussen, P. C., Aung, T., Aung, M., Shwe, N. M., Dumbacher, J. P. & Fleischer, R. C. 2008. A new subspecies of Tesia olivea (Sylviidae) from Chiang Mai province, northern Thailand. Journal of Ornithology.
  • Olsen, B.J., R. Greenberg, R.C. Fleischer, and J.R. Walters. 2008. Extra-pair paternity in the swamp sparrow, Melospiza georgiana: Male access or female preference? Behavioral Ecology & Sociobiology 63:285-294.
  • Schmidt, B. K., Foster, J. T., Angehr, G. R., Durrant, K. L. & Fleischer, R. C. 2008. A new species of African Forest Robin from Gaon (Passeriformes: Muscicapidae: Stiphrornis). Zootaxa 1850: 27-42.
  • Wisely, S. M., Statham, M. J. & Fleischer, R. C. 2008. Pleistocene refugium and Holocene expansion of a grassland dependent species, the black-footed ferret (Mustela nigripes). Journal of Mammalogy 89: 87-96.
  • Beadell, J. S., R. Covas, C. Gebhard, F. Ishtiaq, M. Melo, B. K. Schmidt, S. L. Perkins, G. R. Graves and R. C. Fleischer. 2008. Host associations and evolutionary relationships of avian blood parasites from West Africa. International Journal for Parasitology 39:257-266.
  • Reding, D. M., J. T. Foster, H. F. James, H. D. Pratt and R. C. Fleischer. 2009. Convergent evolution of “creepers” in the Hawaiian honeycreeper radiation. Biology Letters 5:221-224.
  • Eggert, L. S., J. S. Beadell, A. McClung, C. E. McIntosh, and R. C. Fleischer. 2009. Evolution of microsatellite loci in the adaptive radiation of Hawaiian honeycreepers. Journal of Heredity 100:137-145.
  • Beadell, J, Y. Chan and R. Fleischer. 2009. The role of ancient DNA in conservation biology. Pages 198-220 in: Population Genetics for Animal Conservation (eds G. Bertorelle, M. W. Bruford, H. C. Hauffe, A. Rizzoli and C. Vernesi), Cambridge University Press.
  • Harbaugh, D. T., W. L. Wagner, D. M. Percy, H. F. James and R. C. Fleischer. 2009. Genetic structure of the polymorphic Metrosideros (Myrtaceae) complex in the Hawaiian Islands using nuclear microsatellite data. PLoS ONE 4(3): e4698 (doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0004698).

Education

Ph.D., University of Kansas, 1983. Evolutionary genetics.

B.A., University of California, Santa Barbara, 1978. Biology.

Evolutionary biology, conservation biology