By Frank Hanson

The upcoming “Evening Talk” at ONRC is with University of Washington’s SAFS PhD student Erica Escajeda. Please join us as Ms. Escajeda will be speaking on the reproductive behavior of polar bears: “Timing is everything: Shifts in the maternity denning behavior of polar bears in Baffin Bay.”

When: Friday, Feb. 24, from 7-8 p.m.

Where: Forks at the Olympic Natural Resources Center in the Hemlock Forest Room. ONRC is located at 1455 S. Forks Ave.

Erica Escajeda is a PhD student in the School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences at the University of Washington. For her master’s work, Erica studied the effects of climate change on the reproductive behavior of polar bears (Ursus maritimus). Using satellite data collected from adult female polar bears in Baffin Bay, Erica hoped to determine if climate change-related shifts in polar bear habitat are affecting the distribution and phenology of polar bear maternity dens over time. Any changes in when females enter or exit their dens, as well as denning duration, could have implications for the reproductive success of the Baffin Bay population. Come to her talk to find out what she discovered!

Erica is originally from Colorado and completed her undergraduate degree at the University of California, Berkeley. After graduation, she spent two summers working as a field technician on bird surveys in Arctic Alaska where she discovered her passion for the Arctic. Now as a first-year doctoral student, she is using passive acoustic data and spatial methods to study the behavior and presence of subarctic cetaceans in the Bering Strait and southern Chukchi Sea.

Please join us! Evening Talks at ONRC is funded through the Rosmond Forestry Education Fund, an endowment that honors the contributions of Fred Rosmond and his family to forestry and the Forks community. Refreshments will be served and a potluck of your favorite dessert is encouraged. For more information, contact Frank Hanson at 374-4556 or fsh2@uw.edu.