Sarah W. Fitzpatrick
@swfitz.bsky.social
Associate Prof at W.K. Kellogg Biological Station, MSU. Thinking about evolution and conservation in small populations. she/her 🏳️🌈
Pinned
Sarah W. Fitzpatrick
@swfitz.bsky.social
· May 28
Delayed post, but we are excited to share this study on decades of monitoring of translocations launched by the late Reed Bowman. We show a demographic boost (i.e., rescue!), but success was largely driven by a few individuals leading to erosion of genetic diversity.
www.kbs.msu.edu/2025/05/scru...
www.kbs.msu.edu/2025/05/scru...
Reposted by Sarah W. Fitzpatrick
Excited to share our new paper on genetic rescue in the Pacific pocket mouse! To conserve this endangered species, we sought to understand whether small populations at risk of outbreeding depression are better managed in isolation or with gene flow. @science.org
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Fitness benefits of genetic rescue despite chromosomal differences in an endangered pocket mouse
Two-thirds of Earth’s species have undergone population declines, leaving many vulnerable to genomic erosion and inbreeding depression. Genetic rescue can boost the fitness of small populations, but p...
www.science.org
August 21, 2025 at 8:03 PM
Excited to share our new paper on genetic rescue in the Pacific pocket mouse! To conserve this endangered species, we sought to understand whether small populations at risk of outbreeding depression are better managed in isolation or with gene flow. @science.org
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Super proud of @meaghansaurus.bsky.social and all the effort this study represents in the field (led by Eric Hileman & Jen Moore!) and in the lab. Worrisome story for the snakes, but important to know, learn from & act on.
Thrilled to have a new paper out where we use 12+ years of monitoring data to document the impacts of inbreeding on fitness in eastern massasauga rattlesnakes! www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Inbreeding reduces fitness in spatially structured populations of a threatened rattlesnake | PNAS
Small and fragmented populations are at high risk of local extinction, in part because
of elevated inbreeding and subsequent inbreeding depression....
www.pnas.org
August 21, 2025 at 9:19 PM
Super proud of @meaghansaurus.bsky.social and all the effort this study represents in the field (led by Eric Hileman & Jen Moore!) and in the lab. Worrisome story for the snakes, but important to know, learn from & act on.
Reposted by Sarah W. Fitzpatrick
This was definitely a labor of love … SO MANY hours of effort (just ask my husband!), but so worth it in the end. It was pure delight to work with the brilliant Silu Wang on this project.
And all papers are open access! www.pnas.org/topic/574
And all papers are open access! www.pnas.org/topic/574
August 20, 2025 at 3:58 PM
This was definitely a labor of love … SO MANY hours of effort (just ask my husband!), but so worth it in the end. It was pure delight to work with the brilliant Silu Wang on this project.
And all papers are open access! www.pnas.org/topic/574
And all papers are open access! www.pnas.org/topic/574
Excited to share our new paper led by @alexlewanski.bsky.social showing largely positive, multi-decadal consequences of translocations in Red-cockaded woodpeckers at Avon Park Air Force Range in central Florida: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
press release: www.eurekalert.org/news-release...
press release: www.eurekalert.org/news-release...
August 11, 2025 at 6:29 PM
Excited to share our new paper led by @alexlewanski.bsky.social showing largely positive, multi-decadal consequences of translocations in Red-cockaded woodpeckers at Avon Park Air Force Range in central Florida: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
press release: www.eurekalert.org/news-release...
press release: www.eurekalert.org/news-release...
Reposted by Sarah W. Fitzpatrick
Huge thanks and congrats to @siluwang.bsky.social and Anne Yoder for organising this amazing special issue. It has been fun contributing and interacting with Silu, Anne and the authors of the other manuscripts, including in a Zoom "tea break" where we presented our projects to each other.
July 30, 2025 at 7:28 PM
Huge thanks and congrats to @siluwang.bsky.social and Anne Yoder for organising this amazing special issue. It has been fun contributing and interacting with Silu, Anne and the authors of the other manuscripts, including in a Zoom "tea break" where we presented our projects to each other.
Delayed post, but we are excited to share this study on decades of monitoring of translocations launched by the late Reed Bowman. We show a demographic boost (i.e., rescue!), but success was largely driven by a few individuals leading to erosion of genetic diversity.
www.kbs.msu.edu/2025/05/scru...
www.kbs.msu.edu/2025/05/scru...
May 28, 2025 at 3:26 PM
Delayed post, but we are excited to share this study on decades of monitoring of translocations launched by the late Reed Bowman. We show a demographic boost (i.e., rescue!), but success was largely driven by a few individuals leading to erosion of genetic diversity.
www.kbs.msu.edu/2025/05/scru...
www.kbs.msu.edu/2025/05/scru...
Reposted by Sarah W. Fitzpatrick
If you are a person who cares about the future of science in the US, please take actions this week to #SaveNSF. @asn-amnat.bsky.social @sse-evolution.bsky.social @systbiol.bsky.social are leading a week of action - here is a Media Support Tool from the societies docs.google.com/document/d/1... 🧪🧑🔬🧬🖥️🦑
May 5, 2025 at 11:06 PM
If you are a person who cares about the future of science in the US, please take actions this week to #SaveNSF. @asn-amnat.bsky.social @sse-evolution.bsky.social @systbiol.bsky.social are leading a week of action - here is a Media Support Tool from the societies docs.google.com/document/d/1... 🧪🧑🔬🧬🖥️🦑
Reposted by Sarah W. Fitzpatrick
Brilliant new paper by Jill Anderson and colleagues using 9 years of transplant experiments and integral projection models to predict the capacity of populations for adaptation and persistence under new climates in Boechera stricta. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Adaptation and gene flow are insufficient to rescue a montane plant under climate change
Climate change increasingly drives local population dynamics, shifts geographic distributions, and threatens persistence. Gene flow and rapid adaptation could rescue declining populations yet are seld...
www.science.org
May 2, 2025 at 1:25 AM
Brilliant new paper by Jill Anderson and colleagues using 9 years of transplant experiments and integral projection models to predict the capacity of populations for adaptation and persistence under new climates in Boechera stricta. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...