MSU Research roundup-Sea lion slump-Lone cone -Fencing wildlife -Search for life

Sea lion slump

Steller sea lions are unbelievably huge, says MSU ecologist Daniel
Goodman. Males can weigh up to 2,500 pounds, and females as
much as 800 pounds. Some of the sea lions are 10 to 15 feet long.
They’re imposing creatures, but their numbers near Alaska have
fallen from about 300,000 to 30,000 in the past few decades.
They have been declared a depleted population under the Marine
Mammal Protection Act and an endangered species under the
Endangered Species Act. The federal protection means commercial
fishing has come under closer scrutiny, says Goodman. He and his
colleagues are making mathematical models of the Steller
population and looking for patterns in the data. Dan Hennen, an
MSU graduate student, travels to the Aleutian Islands every
summer to gather additional information.

Lone cone

MSU now has an engineering device that’s the only one of its kind
in Montana. Called a cone penetrometer, it will enhance soil
research in many areas, says civil engineering professor Robert
Mokwa. For one, it will allow scientists to test frost-susceptible
soils. It will help researchers identify soil deposits that could
liquefy during earthquakes. It’s ideal for measuring the soft soils
beneath highway embankments and bridges. It will provide
students with hands-on experiences they couldn’t have in a lab.
The sophisticated instrument is pushed into the ground by a
machine that’s mounted on the bed of a four-wheel drive diesel
truck. The thrust is so powerful that the penetrometer can test
soil that’s more than 100 feet down.

Fencing wildlife

Deer and elk can do a lot of damage to Montana crops. Not only
do they eat the crops, but they trample them down. Looking for a
way to reduce that damage, Duane Griffith, MSU Extension Farm
Management Specialist and wildlife specialist Jim Knight are
involved in a three-year project. They will test various fences and
blockade methods to keep the deer and elk away from crops.
Some of the tests will take place on the Bandy Ranch near
Ovando, Griffith said. The experimental ranch sets along the
Blackfoot Clearwater Wildlife Management Area and is available to
researchers in the Montana University System. Griffith and Knight
hope to use other ranches, too, between Bozeman and Ovando.
Besides finding the best fences and methods, they want to look at
cost effectiveness.

Search for life

Some people look for the meaning of life. Mary Schweitzer and
other MSU researchers are looking for life itself. Schweitzer, a
molecular paleontologist known for her work with dinosaurs, is part
of a team that’s searching for life on other planets. They are
working now to identify more than 1,000 biomarkers or "things on
this planet that are very simple and very widespread." One might
be a chemical ring structure that’s only produced by living
organisms. If any of these markers are found on Mars, they could
indicate life. The MSU researchers are also working with the
Spanish equivalent of NASA to design and develop an instrument
that would detect those markers. The instrument is scheduled to
travel to Mars in 2007.

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