Hello everyone.
As many of you know by now, we at the Axolotl Colony are beginning
our relocation to the University of Kentucky. We've been getting
some questions so I'm trying to send out periodic updates to keep
everyone informed. Please keep your questions coming if I'm not
addressing something you're curious about. Right now all you've got
to do is stay tuned to our homepage http://www.indiana.edu/~axolotl
and the Uronet. We'll post news there.
PERSONNEL
For those of you who have not had a chance to speak to them
personally, Laura Muzinic will be the Associate Director; she has a
Master's degree in Aquaculture. Chris Muzinic will be the Curator
and he brings an extensive background in laboratory animal care.
They have been training here in Bloomington for about a month now,
and it is clear to us that the animals will be in very capable,
caring hands. Please take a minute to drop them a line to make them
feel welcome! ambystoma at uky.edu
TIMELINE and PROCESS
We're hoping to have the entire collection relocated to their new
home in Lexington by the end of July. We'll be moving them in 4
separate batches to insure that 1 batch acclimates to their new
surroundings before the next batch arrives. Colony staff (new and
old) will pack/unpack and drive them to Lexington ourselves rather
than using a moving company, so only axolotl experts will handle them
during the move. Along those lines, please be sure to send our ice-
packs back...we'll be using a lot of them during the move!
HOW DOES THIS AFFECT EMBRYO USERS?
During the course of the move, the Bloomington contingent will
continue to perform matings with our dwindling animal population,
while Chris and Laura get the animals settled in Lexington. We're
HOPING to be able to be able to supply embryos from Bloomington
straight up through the end of July, when we begin our usual August
breeding hiatus. With a little luck, the animals should begin to
mate again in September after their break. If you anticipate
ordering embryos between now and the end of July, please be sure to
place your orders a.s.a.p. so we can plan for you.
HOW DOES THIS AFFECT LARVAE/ADULT USERS?
Given our relocation schedule, it is best for you to place your
orders now, and the sooner you can receive the animals, the better.
We're in the process of organizing our stock, so we'll need to set
aside animals for shipments made before the end of July. After July
you'll need to order from the UK staff.
Until the next update...
Take care,
-Jill
Jill Gresens
Assistant Director
IU Axolotl Colony
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://iubio.bio.indiana.edu/bionet/mm/urodeles/attachments/20050607/9207ca9d/attachment.html
