Mink research at MSU began in the late 1940s with the construction of a mink ranch on campus, where scientists studied the animals' reproductive habits and community to assist the fur-farming industry. Aulerich's work, however, has centered more on the effects of the environment on the mink as a species, involving feeding them fish from certain regions of the United States and testing them dermally with toxicants. Both experiments were later used in determining safe polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) levels in water. Because the mink is considered a model species for humans, research has also been directed toward finding the cause of a certain mink subspecies' congenital deafness in a search for a possible solution to human deafness.
But Aulerich must now concentrate on rebuilding his lab. He vows to continue, even in the face of ALF threats such as the spray-painted message "The otters are next," referring to otters housed ...
