Have Passport, Will Travel!: Polar Bear Research Winter CNSC 2014

The time I spent at the Churchill Northern Studies Centre brought the northern world to me in an awe-inspiring way that few people will ever know. One of the great privileges I had was getting to know Nick Lunn and Luana Sciullo in their professional capacity as polar bear research scientists and, more importantly, as friends.

Nick, who has been studying polar bears since 1981, venture "home" to CNSC in Churchill twice a year in the spring (frozen February/March) when polar bear moms and babes might venture out of their dens and then again in the fall when big bear season begins in the POLAR BEAR CAPITAL OF THE WORLD. Working with Nick is Luana Scuillo, a Ph.D candidate who focused on fatty acids and environmental change. According to Luana in research done at CSNC and reported in the centre's quarterly magazine,"With this information,
in conjunction with sea ice data (such as thickness and seasonal duration) we aim to investigate any possible correlation between habitat change and diet composition of this particular polar bear sub population. This study will provide important and
necessary contributions to the field of polar bear ecology and Arctic food webs, and will assist to improve management and conservation practices in an otherwise at risk location."

Polar bears are in jeopardy and if you would like to help there are a few ways to do so. One would be to contact Nick Lunn and Luana Scuillo and offer to contribute financially to their research.
Nick Lunn, the polar bear king nick.lunn@ec.gc.ca
Luana Scuillo lscuillo@gmail.com

Linking with Environment Canada http://www.ec.gc.ca/scitech/default.asp?lang=En&n=F97AE834-1&formid=9617A9C7-98B9-42DA-B999-F3CBC309F029&xsl=scitechprofile is also a ggod connection.

Here are some photos of Nick and Luana going to their research and some polar bear and caribou pic taken on their research by Luana.