Daybreak Discoveries: Surprising Symbioses: Nature’s Unexpected Partnerships

Wake up with awe!

This talk explores biodiversity and why relationships among living things are essential for life on Earth. Together, we’ll dive into symbiosis and the fascinating types of relationships that shape ecosystems, from parasitism to commensalism to mutualism. Through real examples ranging from mud flats, to coral reefs, to the African savannah, to the human microbiome, we’ll see how these connections play out in nature and in our exhibits, like Brick Planet. Finally, we’ll discuss how people both depend on and influence these relationships, and highlight exciting symbiosis research happening right here at DMNS.

Bridget grew up in Orlando, Florida, before moving to Boulder, Colorado, to earn her PhD in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of Colorado Boulder. There, she discovered a passion for using natural history museum collections in innovative ways, investigating how factors such as preservation, habitat complexity, and geography influence mountain snail gut microbiomes over the past century. Her postdoctoral research focused on how environmental exposures affect the microbiomes and metabolomes of globally underrepresented human populations. Now as the Genomics Scientist at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Bridget conducts both human subjects research and zoological studies to understand how environmental and lifestyle factors shape microbiomes and symbiotic relationships across species. Her work bridges human health and animal ecology, applying cutting-edge ‘omics technologies to reveal how interconnected life truly is.

You may also like the following events from Denver Museum of Nature & Science:

• Next month, 15th December, 07:00 pm, Science Spotlight: Snowmass & Elephants in Denver
• Next month, 21st December, 08:00 am, Morning Yoga Series in Denver

Also check out other Health & Wellness events in Denver.