Research roundup at MSU-Bozeman -Fish detectives, Making ties, Yellowstone perils, Reach-out manual

Fish detectives

Ear stones, also known as otoliths, can tell a lot about a fish. Scientists who want to know how old a fish is, for example, can count the rings in its ear stones. Researchers who want to know where the fish was born can use electron beams to sample its ear stones. They can then analyze the chemical composition of the ear stones to figure out the tributary where a fish originated. Tom McMahon of MSU and other whirling disease researchers recognized the value of otoliths when they studied rainbow trout in the Missouri River. Otoliths should also be useful for studying cutthroat trout and lake trout in Yellowstone Lake, McMahon said. Ear stones are small bits of calcium carbonate found in a fish’s inner ear.

Making ties

Entrepreneurs have social ties that yield different kinds of information for their organization, says Scott Bryant, assistant professor of management at MSU. Personal ties, for example, produce reliable information. Brokerage, or third-party ties like membership in the same organization, produce timely, non-redundant information. Business ties, like those between a supplier and customer, bring relevant information. Entrepreneurs don’t need to pursue complex ties in all relationships, Bryant said. To help them understand when to pursue a particular kind of tie, Bryant co-authored an article that will appear in the "Journal of Applied Management and Entrepreneurship" in April.

Yellowstone perils

People might think it’s more dangerous to study seals in Antarctica than elk in Yellowstone National Park. But one man who does both–MSU ecology professor Bob Garrott–says Yellowstone is by far the riskier place to do science. For one, Yellowstone in the winter can be just as cold or colder than Antarctica in the summer, when most of the field studies are done. In Yellowstone, Garrott and his team also have to worry about triggering avalanches, crossing frozen rivers or falling into thermal pools during a whiteout. In Antarctica, Garrott must avoid falling through cracks in the ice or into a glacier crevasse. What’s more, Antarctica has an entire support staff for scientists. In Yellowstone, the park staff has many other duties, and Garrott’s team is more on its own.

Reach-out manual

Youth Reaching Out is a service organization for 14- to 17-year-olds started several years ago in Bozeman. Now there are four chapters in the U.S. and several abroad, prompting MSU student Francis Smart to begin writing a manual to guide the growing organization. The manual will include such topics as how to run a local chapter, how to plan local service projects and how to plan a fundraiser. An English major, Smart has grants from the Undergraduate Scholars Program at MSU and the Montana Campus Compact to create the manual. The organization’s service projects range from working in orphanages in Mexico to helping out at the Bozeman Food Bank, Smart said.

Contact: Annette Trinity-Stevens (406) 994-5607 or [email protected]

http://www.montana.edu/commserv/csnews/nwview.php?article=817