Read about field research and and professional conferences which are important aspects of scientists' work.

Clark Cotton's blog details time he 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, some polar bears follow the retreating ice pack while a separate population of bears remains on shore.  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.

Read an article about what scientist in the Polar Bear Summer Ecology Project learned about one bear: Scientists record a long-distance polar bear swim