The project is live on RocketHub, and you can track the progress of the crowdfunding campaign here:
http://www.rockethub.com/projects/7458-as-the-fur-flies-tracking-fur-seals
I also want to give a shout-out to the other incredible #SciFund research:
http://www.rockethub.com/projects/scifund
Monday, April 30, 2012
Monday, April 23, 2012
How it all began...
I was contacted by a researcher from New Zealand, who wanted to know how long it took for fur seals to regrow their fur. She had cut fur from New Zealand fur seals for scientific samples, and noticed that it had not regrown completely when the animals were sighted the following year. I knew that many fur seals molt continuously, but was unsure of the exact amount of time it took for the hair to fully regrow. So I tried to find the information in the literature... and could not find it! How could we not know this information?
I contacted my friend and colleague, Dr. Carey Kuhn, a fur seal ecologist, and asked if she knew how long it took for fur seals to regrow their fur. She, too, had observed that the fur did not necessarily grow back completely within a year, but did not know exactly how long it would take. As we talked, we realized that this would be an important piece of information to know. Researchers regularly glue electronic devices to fur seals, in order to understand their movements and behavior at sea. It is assumed that these devices do not affect the fur seals while attached or after they are retrieved, but so far the effects have not been investigated. We decided that it was time to take a closer look...
Join us as we investigate different tagging methods and their effects on fur seal fur, in an effort to determine the best method for tagging fur seals.
I contacted my friend and colleague, Dr. Carey Kuhn, a fur seal ecologist, and asked if she knew how long it took for fur seals to regrow their fur. She, too, had observed that the fur did not necessarily grow back completely within a year, but did not know exactly how long it would take. As we talked, we realized that this would be an important piece of information to know. Researchers regularly glue electronic devices to fur seals, in order to understand their movements and behavior at sea. It is assumed that these devices do not affect the fur seals while attached or after they are retrieved, but so far the effects have not been investigated. We decided that it was time to take a closer look...
Join us as we investigate different tagging methods and their effects on fur seal fur, in an effort to determine the best method for tagging fur seals.
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