Fellow Blogs

Field research and and professional conferences are important aspects of scientists' work. These blogs share both with students and teachers.

 Jonathan Hoffman attended the annual meeting for the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology in Bristol, England. He also visited some of the major natural history museums in Europe.

Clark Cotton spent time in Deadhorse, AK capturing bears and recording data for the Polar Bear Summer Ecology Project.

As the sea ice retreats from the North Slope of Alaska every summer, a number of polar bears follow the retreating ice pack while a separate population of bears remains on shore. Because of declining sea ice, the shore bears are experiencing longer periods of time on shore, conditions that include warm temperatures and a general lack of prey availability. Polar bears in the Hudson Bay undergo a similar situation every summer and respond by entering a state of metabolic depression termed "walking hibernation" to cope with the lack of food. However, polar bears in the Hudson Bay area are undergoing a population decline as longer ice free periods increase the amount of time bears are stranded on land. The polar bear summer ecology project is interested in seeing how the population of bears on land compares to the population of bears that follow the ice. Bears from both populations are captured in the late spring and a variety of measurements and samples are taken. Bears are recaptured and additional measurements are taken in the fall. Data from the project will help us better understand bear movement and physiology during the summer period and will eventually be incorporated into population models to inform management and conservation strategies under conditions of changing sea ice.

Last Updated on 8/28/2010 1:15:49 AM