Dr. Michael Tobin
Biography
I am a plant physiological ecologist focusing on plant hydraulics and drought resistance of plant species and communities. I joined the Natural Sciences Department at UHD in Fall 2012. I teach courses covering plant biology, general ecology, plant identification, and environmental field science. I mentor a group of students establishing a pocket prairie in Johnny Goyen Park in collaboration with Houston Parks and Recreation Department. I am also a faculty mentor for the Environmental Club and Scholars Academy.
Degrees Earned
BA - Biology, Reed College,1990
Ph.D.- Forest Ecology, University of Minnesota, 2001
Courses Taught
- BIOL 1301 General Biology I
- BIOL 1101 General Biology I Lab
- BIOL 3330 Plant Biology
- BIOL 3130 Plant Biology Lab
- BIOL 3310 Plant Identification
- BIOL 3110 Plant Identification Lab
- BIOL 3302 General Ecology
- BIOL-CHEM-GEOL 4260 Environmental Lab and Field Studies
- BIOL 4210 Biology Seminar
More Information
Publications
Jacobsen AL, Tobin MF, Toschi H, Percolla M, and BR Pratt. 2016. Structural determinants of increased susceptibility to dehydration-induced cavitation in post-fire resprouting chaparral shrubs. Plant, Cell & Environment 39: 2473-2485.
Wright A, Tobin M, Mangan S, and SA Schnitzer. 2015. Unique competitive effects of lianas and trees in a tropical forest understory. Oecologia 177: 561-569.
Jacobsen AL, Pratt RB, Davis SD, and MF Tobin. 2014. Geographic and seasonal variation in chaparral vulnerability to cavitation. Madroño 61: 317-327.
Pratt RB, Jacobsen AL, Ramirez, AR, Helms A, Traugh CA, Tobin MF, Heffner MS, and SD Davis. 2013. Mortality of resprouting chaparral shrubs after fire and during a record drought: physiological mechanisms and demographic consequences. Global Change Biology 30: 893-907.
Paddock WAS, Davis SD, Pratt RB, Jacobsen AL, Tobin MF, Lόpez-Portillo J, and FW Ewers. 2013. Factors determining mortality of adult chaparral shrubs in an extreme drought year in California. Aliso 31: 49-57.
Tobin MF, Pratt RB, Jacobsen AL, and ME De Guzman. 2013. Xylem vulnerability to cavitation can be accurately characterized in species with long vessels using a centrifuge method. Plant Biology 15: 496-504.
Schnitzer SA, Mangan SA, Dalling JW, Baldeck CA, Hubbell SP, Ledo A, Muller-Landau H, Tobin MF, Aguilar S, Brassfield D, Hernandez A, Lao S, Perez R, Valdez O, and S Rutishauser Yorke. 2012. Liana abundance, diversity, and distribution on Barro Colorado Island, Panama. PLoS ONE 7: e52114.
Jacobsen AL, Pratt RB, Tobin MF, Hacke UG, and FW Ewers. 2012. A global analysis of xylem vessel length in woody plants. American Journal of Botany 99: 1583-1591.
Tobin MF, Wright AJ, Mangan SA, and SA Schnitzer. 2012. Lianas have a greater competitive effect than trees of similar biomass on tropical canopy trees. Ecosphere 3: 20.
Volin JC, Kruger EL, Volin VC, Tobin MF, and K Kitajima. 2009. Does release from natural belowground enemies help explain the invasiveness of Lygodium microphyllum? A cross-continental comparison. Plant Ecology 208: 223-234.
Tobin MF and PB Reich. 2009. Comparing indices of light availability in hemlock and hardwood forest patches. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 39: 1949-1957.
Tobin MF, Lopez OR and TA Kursar. 1999. Responses of tropical understory plants to a severe drought: tolerance and avoidance of water stress. Biotropica 31: 570-578.