Charles Fenster

Title

Oak Lake Field Station Director / NRM Affiliate Professor

Office Building

Edgar S. McFadden Biostress Lab

Office

249B

Mailing Address

McFadden Biostress Laboratory 249B
Biology and Microbiology-Box 2140D
University Station
Brookings, SD 57007

CV

Education

• University of Chicago
• Amherst College
• Stuyvesant High School, NYC

Academic Interests

• Landscape ecology

Awards and Honors

• 2016 - 2018, Treasurer AIBS
• 2008 - 2010, Executive Vice President SSE

Grants

1. Fenster, B. C., Leffler, J., Nottebrock, H., Sieverding, H. and Stone, J. Stormwater management and ecosystem health: The complementary role of green infrastructure in urban environments. USGS 104, May 1, 2018, $12,500.
2. Bachmann, A., Fenster, C., Lundgren, J., Rand, T., Sieverding, H. and Stone, J. Quantifying the contribution of native and non-native pollinators to Brassica carinata yield and B. carinata's impact on pollinator health. North Central Sun Grant (DOE), Jan. 1, 2017, $140,000.
3. Dudash, M., Fenster, C., Zhou, J. and Zimmer, E. Quantifying pollinator mediated sexual conflict in Silene stellata. NSF DDIG, July 1, 2015, $18,000.
4. Fenster, C., Rutter, M., Weigel, D. and Wright, S. “Collaborative: RUI: The natural history of mutations: sequence and fitness data from Arabidopsis thaliana mutation accumulation lines.” July 15, 2013 - July 15, 2017, $759,753.

Areas of Research

Evolutionary biologist Charles Fenster uses plants as model organisms to quantify evolutionary process. His main research themes are the genetics of adaptation, the contribution of mutation to selection response and quantifying pollinator-mediated selection on floral form and function. He is applying this work towards the conservation genetics of small populations through genetic rescue, the role of mutations in the evolution of pesticide and herbicide resistance and to sustainable agriculture through the positive interactions between oil crops and native pollinators and honey bees.