Rachel said,
>Have there been any studies done on Mustela furo competing with Mustela
>negripes?
 
No, none.  What's there to study?  The black-footed ferret only exists
in captive breeding programs and as reintroductions in a few selected
locales.  However, here is another clue.  For an animal to compete
against ANY other animal, it has to be able to do a number of things:
find shelter, water and food, evade predators, it must successfully
invade the niche, AND after doing all of that, it MUST IMPACT the other
species.  No impact, no competition.
 
Rachel said,
>It's one thing to run my mouth off in class...
 
I do it all the time and I am never embarrassed.  Sometimes I answer
questions that were never asked because something shiny distracted me
for a moment, a follow-up question deflected my thoughts, or I simply
heard the question wrong, and I am never embarrassed about those either.
Some instructors are so worried about meeting their academic goals that
they shut down the most important aspect of learning: discussion.  REAL
academic debate, not that Republican "Sustained Interruption and Yelling"
crap that is currently called "debate" on TV, is a thoughtful discussion
of the issues, where both sides allow the other to make their point,
because they both realize truth is usually somewhere in the middle and
a clear discussion often illuminates the answer.  ANY ATTEMPT TO STOP
OPEN DISCUSSION, FOR ANY REASON, IS CENSORSHIP!!!!  When an instructor
cuts off my line of reasoning, I point it out, ask exactly when such
a discussion is appropriate, and if time is not made available, I
IMMEDIATELY COMPLAIN to the department chair.  Part of the learning
process is the ability to question and discuss issues, which doesn't
exist in an environment of censorship and academic condescension.
 
These are the facts:
1. There is NO evidence in existence that suggests in any manner that
domesticated ferrets have ever impacted the black-footed ferret
population--if your instructor suggests otherwise, as for a reference!
2. There is NO evidence domesticated ferrets have ever become an
introduced species in the United States -- I have copies of EVERY
published report cited by the fish and game, and with a single exception,
not a solitary account can prove any recovered or sighted domesticated
ferrets were not simply lost or abandoned individuals.  The ONLY report
that can be taken as evidence ferrets existed for a short time in the
wild was on the San Juan Islands, where released ferrets lived on
introduced European rabbits for a short time before the ferret population
died out.  Even in an island environment in the USA, domesticated ferrets
cannot out-compete native mustelids.
3. I can document the presence of ferrets in the USA since the
revolution: 225+ years.  During US history, mature breeder ferrets
escaped or were purposefully released in numerous locations at numerous
times, including (but not limited to) New York, Georgia, Ohio, and
Pennsylvania.  Yet during all this time, with all these releases of
sexually mature animals, not a single feral ferret population exists
in the USA.
 
Suggest in a mildly condescending way that your instructor has eschewed
these facts when suggesting domesticated ferrets could impact local
populations.  Get catty about it, and dog them with the facts.  Point
out conservation departments exist to regulate hunting and fishing, not
preserving species, and many of the animals they protect are neither
native to the USA, nor have a benign effect on native populations.  Then
push the point: demand a reference, ANY reference that scientifically
establishes the innuendo that ferrets can hurt native species.  Good
luck, and you might want to discuss the instructor's condescension with
the department chair.  Instructors are accountable for teaching false
information.
 
Bob C
[Posted in FML issue 4421]