ng in Antarctica.)
"Exposing students to that opportunity is probably the best thing we do," Garrott said.
Garrott and Rotella took over the Weddell seal study around 2001 from Don Siniff at the University of Minnesota. Siniff initiated the project around 1967. So far, the researchers have tagged more than 19,500 seals and maintain such a complete database that it's used by scientists all over the world. Rotella said the researchers know every Weddell pup that has been born in the study population, as well as its mother, brothers and sisters. They know which pups have thrived and which ones haven't. Since the seals always return to the same colony, the researchers have been able to monitor some individuals for more than 30 years.
"That tool is one of the most powerful tools for demographic studies," Garrott said. "We have one of the best studies in the world as far as its duration and intensity of tagging."
Garrott said Antarctica is stunning, with the light reflecting off its glaciers, ice and snow. Rotella said it's inspiring to work in such a pristine environment and to know that such a place still exists.
"It's a place of great hope," Rotella said. "To me, it's an inspirational place that allows us to study a wild population that is healthy and working well. The Ross Sea is a little slice of frozen Eden."
Rotella and Garrott said they are concerned, however, because of threats they perceive from commercial fishing being developed in the Ross Sea.
"There ought to be one body of ocean in the world that we might be able to leave unexploited," Garrott said.
Some of Price's work will be available to the public while the group is in Antarctica. Other pieces will be available in a few months after she returns to her production studio. For more information, go to the video blog at http://inmotion.typepad.com/weddell_seal_science and the YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/user/WeddellSealScience
Evelyn Boswell, (406) 994-5135 or firstname.lastname@example.org