Rescheduled to Tuesday, Oct. 24 | Fall Dessert with Discussion Talk

Join the W.K. Kellogg Biological Station community at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 24, for a talk on the concept of genetic rescue and how it’s being used to save imperiled species in Michigan and elsewhere.

Note: This event has been rescheduled from the original date of Tuesday, Oct. 3.

The basics

• Time and date: 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2023
• Location: 3700 East Gull Lake Drive, Hickory Corners, MI
• Audience: Adults
• Fee: Free; registration required
• Register at bit.ly/kbs-DwD-fall2023

About

Mittan-Moreau (left) and Fitzpatrick

The presenters for the fall 2023 Dessert with Discussion talk are Dr. Sarah Fitzpatrick, a resident faculty member at KBS, and Dr. Cinnamon Mittan-Moreau, a postdoctoral research associate who works with the Fitzpatrick and Haddad labs.

In today’s human-dominated world, many species are suffering from habitat loss and fragmentation. Restoring connectivity and gene flow among small, isolated populations can often reverse population declines and help species avoid extinction through genetic rescue. Fitzpatrick and Mittan-Moreau will first give an overview of genetic rescue, then they’ll examine a Michigan case study where genetic rescue is being considered as a strategy to save the rapidly declining Mitchell’s Satyr butterfly.

Their talk, titled “Genetic Rescue to the Rescue?,” will be offered in-person in the KBS Academic Building’s auditorium, located at 3700 East Gull Lake Drive, and also will be streamed via Zoom. The talk is free and open to the public, and registration is required.

Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and numerous area organizations will have informational booths open. Both in-person and virtual attendees will have an opportunity to ask questions following the talk.

People attending in person will also be able to take home a to-go dessert.

Sarah Fitzpatrick

Sarah Fitzpatrick is an associate professor in Michigan State University’s Department of Integrative Biology. Her research focuses on how evolution and genetics can help inform the ecology and, ultimately, the conservation of species. She does this through experiments with small fish and studies of wild populations of threatened and endangered species such as Harlequin frogs in Ecuador, Florida Scrub-jays, and butterflies in Michigan. She likes to fish, play frisbee, and hang out with her kids.

Cinnamon Mittan-Moreau

Cinnamon Mittan-Moreau is a postdoctoral research fellow at KBS working with Sarah Fitzpatrick, Nick Haddad and Mariah Meek. Cinnamon uses genetic data from populations to understand and support adaptation to environmental change. She is especially motivated by working with conservation practitioners to incorporate genetic data into management actions and policy. She has worked on a variety of organisms, from peat mosses to cane toads, and is currently working on the federally endangered butterfly, the Mitchell’s Satyr. In her free time, Cinnamon enjoys playing bass clarinet in the Cereal City Concert Band, crocheting, and documenting biodiversity in parking lots, in roadside ditches, and near buildings.

Dessert with Discussion is a free lecture series that connects the KBS and MSU research community with our local community. This series is made possible through generous donations to the Dessert with Discussion Fund.

Send questions about the event to communityrelations@kbs.msu.edu.