I've been verbally spanked for not giving regular updates on my
research and travel. The worst spanking came from a dear friend who
suggested I was being a donkey's behind for not doing so. In my
defense, I have been working hard, not buying a lot of time in order
to save funds, and the time I do get off (like on a train) is not
always amiable to using the internet (but is for napping). I have about
500 unread messages in my inbox. Still, I agree I could have done a
better job, so here is an update.

I have started the first statical analyzes of the early data. Mind you,
I use a powerful double-blind statistical analysis whenever I can, so
I can only discuss general patterns, not specifics (at the moment). In
the UK, I switched to a different type of questioning that saves time
and get about the same data, but doesn't allow for such powerful
statistics. Still, they are more than impressive and should get the
job done.

NZ (Phase 1): the data from New Zealand will knock your socks off. I
sent about 100 DNA kits back, mostly of NZ feral ferrets, but some of
pet ferrets recovered from the wild. I necropsied about 350 feral
ferrets. The husbandry data was tantalizing, clearing correlating diet
to dental disease and insulinoma. On the feral ferret front, I have
gobs of great data relating to the "can ferrets go feral in California"
issue (it will suck to be a CACALand Fish and Gamer). I have also been
taking huge numbers of measurements of living ferrets and can see some
important differences (more on this later).

AU (Phase 2): Perhaps the most important stop of the trip (so far). I
sent back about 400 DNA kits from around the continent. Australia has a
closed genetics pool for ferrets, so if they show similar diseases as
seen in the USA and those data are correlated to husbandry, it takes a
huge bite out of the "genetic inbreeding" counter-argument for dental
disease, insulinoma, and even adrenal disease. I have started working
on the math for Australia (some data are still trickling in), but at
the moment the probabilities that these disease are environmentally
triggered is 98.5%, with P values that will make a statistican weep
with joy. I haven't combined the data with NZ, but the two together
will be the type of landmark data that important journals love to
publish.

UK (Phase 3): Part of the UK trip I was helped by Dr. Susan Brown,
who not only was (is!) instrumental in the formation of the exotics
subdivision of veterinary medicine, but also started the first
exotics-only vet hospital in the USA and was among the first vets
to work on ferrets. She is a "first generation" ferret vet, and
her personal contributions to ferret medicine cannot be ignored or
discounted (indeed; her contributions to ferret medicine exceed almost
all others). Dr. Brown was in the UK to help out, but she also checked
my technique and confirmed by observations. I am proud to say that Dr.
Brown agreed with my ferret physicals roughly 99% of the time (I have
MANY witnesses to that fact!). The UK has been very important because
not only is the gene pool "different" from the US and Canadian ferrets,
but there are also animals that are clearly full-blooded polecats!
(Polecats and feral ferrets are my controls) More importantly, in a
museum collection, I was able to pull out the polecat skulls from
animals that lived in captivity and ate kibble, with a 100% success
rate! I am not quite finished at the museum and I need to collect
more DNA (this weekend), but already the data are tantalizing. The
UK husbandry data will have to wait until I finish Phase 3.

EU (Phase 4): Starts next Monday when I leave the UK and start
traveling around Europe, documenting husbandry and taking DNA samples.
I wanted to finish by July 20, but since the date for TLE's house
workday has been changed, if I need to do so, I can skip my grandson's
birthday and finish up here. I will probably spend some time in France,
then go to (in approximate order) the Netherlands, Norway, Finland,
Denmark, Poland, Austria, Hungary, Germany, and Italy. I'll fly home
from Rome. It will be a "train trip - visit and do research - off to
the next stop" type of trip. That will make it the most stressful,
hardest to get on the internet, and most expensive way to get the data,
but that is the way things are and why I put if off to last. I will
get it done.

I want to thank several people for providing additional funding for
this research project, but I forgot to ask permission if I could
mention their names. You know who you are! THANKS!

Bob C [log in to unmask]

[Posted in FML 6026]