What did the professor want to talk to Ann about?

M: Thanks for stopping by, Ann. I’d like to talk to you about a research project that I thought you might be interested in. A friend of mine is working in Yellow Stone National Park this summer.
W: Yellow Stone! I’ve always wanted to spend sometime out Wyoming.
M: Wait till you hear what the project is. She’s working with the buffalo population. The herds have been increasing in size latterly which is good in theory.
W: Yeah. But I thought they were in endanger of becoming extinct.
M: Well, apparently, because of all the winter tourists, paths are created in the snow: More buffalo were surviving in the harsh winters because the paths made it easier for the buffalo to move around and find food. But it turns out that some of the herds are infected with the bacteria.
W: Oh, yeah. I heard about that. A blue...
M: A blue sellaborders.
W: Right. It’s been around for quite a while.
M: Yes, it has. And because the buffalo population is increasing, they’ve been roaming more than usual. And the disease’s begun to spread to the cattle ranches that border the park.
W: That’s bad news. Isn’t that the disease that causes animal to abort their young?
M: Yes. And it’s caused a lot of controversy. Some of the ranchers even want to destroy the buffalo herds.
W: That’s awful! Have they made much progress with the research?
M: SO far, they’ve been collecting tissue samples from dead buffalo to see if the bacteria is present.
W: I’ll really be interested in working on this. You know I’ve been researching diseased animal population.
M: That’s why I thought of you. 1 took the liberty of mentioning your name to my friend.
W: She’s hoping you’ll be able to spend the whole summer out there.
M: Well, I was going to work on my thesis a lot in July. But I’m sure my adviser wouldn’t want me to pass up this opportunity.