I work at Carnegie Mellon University in the Operations Research Department.
One of the professors here who knew of my interest in ferrets showed me the
latest copy of the journal "Operations Research".  [Vol 45 No 4, July/August
1997, pp 495-507] The paper is entitled: "Spatial Optimization of Prairie
Dog Colonies for Balck-Footed Ferret Recovery" (by Bevers, Hof, Uresk and
Schenbeck)
 
Basically, operations research deals with optimizing (or minimizing) a
schedule.  For example, scheduling communications satellite transmissions,
crew scheduling, travel routes, etc.
 
What this paper did was take how many prairie dogs were needed to support a
ferret and map out various tactics.  They pretty much only dealt with
prairie dog variables.  The upshot of the whole thing was that if we stop
poisoning the prairie dogs, the plains will support the released ferrets.
Otherwise, they'll die out quickly.  Duh.
 
But it was fun finding a paper done on ferrets!
 
--Barb--
-=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=-
Barbara Carlson                   Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh PA
[log in to unmask]           Work: (412) 268-1342 Home: (412) 481-5927
 http://www.gsia.cmu.edu/andrew/bcarlson/home.html (under construction)
Thought for the day:
    If "boring women have immaculate homes," I must be very interesting!
-=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=- -=-
[Posted in FML issue 2054]