Submitted by Anonymous on Wed, 10/07/2009 - 06:45
Forums
Polar Bear Response to Sea Ice Loss

Hello Christina,

I was thrilled when Prof. Jeannie Lythcott from Stanford University told me that your were selected for the Arctic. I think I presented to you and other teachers at Stanford in 2007 before I went to the South Pole

My students and I would like to send you greetings from New York. We ar enjoying all your journals.

We loved hearing the sounds of a Polar Bear sleeping!! My Environmental Class has one question for now: What kind of data are the researchers looking for in the blood of the Polar Bears?

we hope to hear from you soon,

Elke Bergholz and the Environmental Investigation class United Nations International School New York, N.Y.

Wed, 10/07/2009 - 09:15

Cristina Galvan

Hi Elke!I heard about you though Jeannie as well!
I'm glad you all enjoyed the polar bear sleeping sounds - it's pretty
amazing.
Great question about the blood - they have several purposes for collecting
blood. They are mostly interested in what the bears are eating and if
they are fasting or not. They run the blood through a very cool analysis
that gives them information as to the ratio of the different types of
cells in the blood - white blood cells, etc.
They also do an analysis that tells the cholesterol levels and
triglyceride levels.
Back in their labs they will analyze the different isotopes in the blood
to get an idea of what the bears are eating as well.
Hope that helps!
Thanks,
Cristina