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Kristin Laidre

Senior Principal Oceanographer

Professor, School of Aquatic + Fishery Sciences

Email

klaidre@uw.edu

Phone

206-616-9030

Research Interests

Ecology and Population Dynamics of Arctic Marine Mammals

Department Affiliation

Polar Science Center

Education

B.S. Zoology, University of Washington - Seattle, 1999

Ph.D. Aquatic & Fishery Sciences, University of Washington - Seattle, 2003

Kristin Laidre's Website

http://staff.washington.edu/klaidre

Publications

2000-present and while at APL-UW

Migratory Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus) as a prey pulse for Arctic marine predators

Gilbert, M.J.H., L.N. Harris, A.L. Vail, K.L. Laidre, M.L. Mallory, and D.J. Yurkowski, "Migratory Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus) as a prey pulse for Arctic marine predators," Ecology, 106, doi:10.1002/ecy.70177, 2025.

10 Aug 2025

Hemoglobin A1c is a retrospective indicator of denning in polar bears (Ursus maritimus)

Teman, S.J., T.C. Atwood, K.L. Laidre, E.E. Virgin, K.D. Rode, L.A. Rispoli, and E. Curry, "Hemoglobin A1c is a retrospective indicator of denning in polar bears (Ursus maritimus)," J. Mammal., EOR, doi:10.1093/jmammal/gyaf033, 2025.

27 Jun 2025

Measuring polar bear health using allostatic load

Teman, S.J., T.C. Atwood, S.J. Converse, T.L. Fry, and K.L. Laidre, "Measuring polar bear health using allostatic load," Conserv. Physiol., 13, doi:10.1093/conphys/coaf013, 2025.

More Info

5 Mar 2025

The southern Beaufort Sea polar bear sub-population (Ursus maritimus) has been adversely affected by climate change and loss of sea ice habitat. Even though the sub-population is likely decreasing, it remains difficult to link individual polar bear health and physiological change to sub-population effects. We developed an index of allostatic load, which represents potential physiological dysregulation. The allostatic load index included blood- and hair-based analytes measured in physically captured southern Beaufort bears in spring. We examined allostatic load in relation to bear body condition, age, terrestrial habitat use and, over time, for bear demographic groups. Overall, allostatic load had no relationship with body condition. However, allostatic load was higher in adult females without cubs that used terrestrial habitats the prior year, indicating potential physiological dysregulation with land use. Allostatic load declined with age in adult females without cubs. Sub-adult males demonstrated decreased allostatic load over time. Our study is one of the first attempts to develop a health scoring system for free-ranging polar bears, and our findings highlight the complexity of using allostatic load as an index of health in a wild species. Establishing links between individual bear health and population dynamics is important for advancing conservation efforts.

More Publications

In The News

Videos show narwhals using their tusks to play with their food

The New York Times, Kaleigh Rogers

In a paper published last month in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science, researchers make the case that narwhals aren't only showing off with their tusks — the appendages have a variety of demonstrated uses that help the animals survive in the ocean.

12 Mar 2025

Paws of polar bears sustaining ice-related injuries in a warming Arctic

UW News, Hannah Hickey

While surveying the health of two polar bear populations, researchers found lacerations, hair loss, ice buildup and skin ulcerations primarily affecting the feet of adult bears as well as other parts of the body.

22 Oct 2024

In the gateway to the Arctic, fat, ice and polar bears are crucial. All three are in trouble

Associated Press, Seth Borenstein

Searching for polar bears where the Churchill River dumps into Canada’s massive Hudson Bay, biologist Geoff York scans a region that’s on a low fat, low ice diet because of climate change.

“To live in the Arctic you need to be fat, or live on fat, or both,” said Kristin Laidre.

24 Sep 2024

More News Items

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