Kristin Laidre

  • Assistant Professor, SAFS
  • Principal Researcher, Polar Science Center, Applied Physics Laboratory

Research areas

I am working on problems of applied animal ecology. My research is field-based, largely empirical, and focuses on using quantitative data on individual movements, foraging behavior, and life history of Arctic top predators to understand population dynamics, and the uniting aspects of behavioral, population, and evolutionary ecology. I am particularly interested in linking individual performance to an animal’s selection for habitat resources and predicting how these relationships will be impacted by climate change. My questions have been primarily directed at the ecology and management of Arctic marine mammals, specifically cetaceans and polar bears around Greenland, though my students work on a wide range of species. My interests also include conservation and wildlife management, scaling questions in ecology, and the application of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to spatial data.

Prospective students: Visit my website to view my availability and policies.

Courses

Areas of Expertise

  • Marine mammals
  • Marine conservation
  • Climate change
  • Polar ecology

Community Engagement and Awards

Advisory Boards

  • Scientific Working Group of the Canada-Greenland Joint Commission on Polar Bears (Baffin Bay and Kane Basin Subpopulations)
  • IUCN Species Survival Commission Polar Bear Specialist Group (PBSG)
  • IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC) Cetacean Specialist Group (CSG)

Selected publications