Kristin Laidre

Kristin Laidre is currently a research scientist at the Polar Science Center, Applied Physics Lab, University of Washington. She is partially supported by the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources in Nuuk, Greenland. Her primary research interests lie in spatial modeling of movement and spatially-explicit foraging ecology of top marine predators. She is interested in how environmental features and habitat variables manifest themselves as constraints on movement and behavior, and how these constraints differentially impact demographics of sub-populations or metapopulations of marine species. Her research is focused on exploring these relationships using satellite and archival telemetry, in combination with remotely-sensed satellite data and quantitative spatial models in a Geographic Information System (GIS). Her research also links spatial environmental fluctuation to bioenergetic models and food webs in the marine ecosystem. Much of her research is focused in the high Arctic, where both short food chains and very limited and specific production periods strongly shape the behavior of top predators.

Kristin Laidre’s web page

In The News

Selected Projects

  • Climate Change, Sea Ice Loss, and Polar Bears in Greenland

    This project aims to understand and quantify the effects of sea ice loss on polar bears in East and West Greenland (Baffin Bay).  Longitudinal (cross-time) comparisons of movement behavior and habitat selection will be driven by an analysis of a multi-decadal satellite telemetry dataset on polar bear movements in Baffin Bay and East Greenland, beginning when sea ice concentration and break up date started to decline (1991-1997) and encompassing present day conditions (2007-2013).

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  • Behavioral Ecology of Narwhals in a Changing Arctic

    The Arctic is currently undergoing rapid and extraordinary large-scale changes related to natural resource development, marine shipping, transportation, infrastructure, and sea ice loss, and as a consequence there will be an imminent and uniform increase in anthropogenic sound. Narwhals are an important representative species for understanding both increasing noise in the Arctic and loss of sea ice, and the joint effects of these impacts on their behavior and ecology.

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Selected Publications

  • Laidre, K. L., S. N. Atkinson, E. V. Regehr, H. L. Stern, E. W. Born, Ø. Wiig, N. J. Lunn, M. Dyck, P. Heagerty, and B. R.
    Cohen. 2020. Transient benefits of climate change for a high‐Arctic polar bear (Ursus maritimus) subpopulation. Global
    Change Biology 26:6251‐6265. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.15286

  • Hale, J. R., Laidre, K. L., Tinker, M. T., Jameson, R. J., Jeffries, S. J., Larson, S. E. and Bodkin, J. L. (2019), Influence of occupation history and habitat on Washington sea otter diet. Mar Mam Sci. doi:10.1111/mms.12598

  • Laidre K. L.,  H. Stern, E. W. Born, P. Heagerty, S, Atkinson, Ø. Wiig, N. J. Lunn, E. V. Regehr, R. McGovern, M. Dyck. 2018.  Changes in winter and spring resource selection by polar bears Ursus maritimus in Baffin Bay over two decades of sea-ice loss. Endangered Species Research 36:1-14. https://doi.org/10.3354/esr00886

  • Laidre K. L., E. W. Born, S. N. Atkinson, Ø. Wiig, L. W. Andersen, N. J. Lunn, M. Dyck, E. V. Regehr, R. McGovern and P. Heagerty. 2018.  Range contraction and increasing isolation of a polar bear subpopulation in an era of sea ice loss. Ecology and Evolution DOI: 10.1002/ece3.3809

  • Hauser, D.D.W., K.L. Laidre, H.L. Stern, R.S. Suydam, P.R. Richard. 2018. Indirect effects of sea ice loss on summer-fall habitat and behaviour for sympatric populations of an Arctic marine predator. Diversity and Distributions https://doi.org/10.1111/ddi.12722.

  • Laidre, K. L. and E. V. Regehr. 2018. Arctic marine mammals. In “Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals” (Bernd Würsig, J.G.M. Thewissen, and Kit M. Kovacs, eds.), 3rd edition. Pp 34-40. Academic Press/Elsevier, San Diego, CA, USA.

  • Chambault, P., C. Moesgaard Albertsen, T. A. Patterson, R. G. Hansen, O. Tervo, K. L. Laidre & M. P. Heide-Jørgensen. 2018. Sea surface temperature predicts the movements of an Arctic cetacean: the bowhead whale. Scientific Reports 8:9658. doi:10.1038/s41598-018-27966

  • Lander, M., A. J. Westgate, B. C. Balmer, J. P. Reid, M. J. Murray, and K. L. Laidre. 2018. “Tagging and Tracking”, Chapter 32 in CRC Handbook of Marine Mammal Medicine, 3rd Edition. F. M. D. Gulland, L. A. Dierauf, K. L. Whitman (Eds), pages 767-798.

  • Durner, G. M., Laidre, K. L., and York, G .S., eds. 2018. Polar Bears: Proceedings of the 18th Working Meeting of the IUCN/SSC Polar Bear Specialist Group, 7–11 June 2016, Anchorage, Alaska. Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK: IUCN. xxx + 207pp.

  • Laidre, K. L., Stirling, I. , Estes, J. A., Kochnev, A. and Roberts, J. (2018), Historical and potential future importance of large whales as food for polar bears. Front Ecol Environ. https://doi.org/10.1002/fee.1963

  • Rode, K.D., Fortin-Noreus, J.K., Garshelis, D., Dyck, M., Sahanatien, V., Atwood, T., Belikov, S., Laidre, K.L., Miller, S., Obbard, M.E., Vongraven, D., Ware, J., Wilder, J., 2018. Survey-based assessment of the frequency and potential impacts of recreation on polar bears. Biological Conservation, 227: 121-132. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2018.09.008

  • Laidre, K.L., A.D. Northey, F. Ugarte, (2018). Traditional Knowledge About Polar Bears (Ursus maritimus) in East Greenland: Changes in the Catch and Climate Over Two Decades. Frontiers in Marine Science, 5, https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2018.00135.

  • Koch, A., Rosing-Asvid, A., Rajala, E.L., Born, E.W., Bonefeld-Jørgensen, E., Mulvad, G., Laidre, K., Tryland, M., Magnusson, U., Sonne, C., Jenssen, B.M., Andersen-Ranberg, E., Eulaers, I., Desforges, J., Mosbacher, J.B., Gustavson, K., Schmidt, N., Dietz, R., Siebert, U., Grøndahl, C., Agerholm, J.S., Wiig, Ø., Prevalence of antibodies against Brucella spp. in West Greenland polar bears (Ursus maritimus) and East Greenland muskoxen (Ovibos moschatus), Polar Biol (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-018-2307-4

  • Hauser DDW, Laidre KL, Stern HL, Suydam RS, Richard PR. Indirect effects of sea ice loss on summer‐fall habitat and behaviour for sympatric populations of an Arctic marine predator. Divers Distrib. 2018;24:791–799. https://doi.org/10.1111/ddi.12722

  • Escajeda, E., Laidre, K. L., Born, E. W., Wiig, Ø., Atkinson, S., Dyck, M., Ferguson, S. H., Lunn, N. J. (2018) Identifying shifts in maternity den phenology and habitat characteristics of polar bears (Ursus maritimus) in Baffin Bay and Kane Basin. Polar Biology DOI: 10.1007/s00300-017-2172-6

  • Laidre, K.L., and E.V. Regehr. 2017. Arctic marine mammals and sea ice. Pages 516-533 in D. Thomas (Ed.), Sea Ice 3rd Edition. West Sussex, United Kingdom: John Wiley & Sons Ltd.  ISBN: 978-1-118-77838-8

  • Hauser, D.D W., Laidre K. L., Stern H.L., Moore S.E., Suydam, R. S., and Richard, P.R.: Habitat selection by two beluga whale populations in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas, PLoS ONE 12(2), doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0172755, 2017.

  • Hauser, D. D. W., Laidre, K. L., Stafford, K. M., Stern, H. L., Suydam, R. S. and Richard, P. R. (2016), Decadal shifts in autumn migration timing by Pacific Arctic beluga whales are related to delayed annual sea ice formation. Glob Change Biol. doi:10.1111/gcb.13564

  • Hunt, G.L., Jr., Drinkwater, K.F., Arrigo, K., Berge, J., Daly, K.L., Danielson, S., Daase, M., Hop, H., Isla, E., Karnovsky, N., et al., including Kristin Laidre. 2016. Advection in polar and sub-polar environments: Impacts on high latitude marine ecosystems. Progress in Oceanography.149: 40-81. doi.org/10.1016/j.pocean.2016.10.004

  • Koblitz J.C., Stilz P., Rasmussen M.H., Laidre K.L. (2016) Highly Directional Sonar Beam of Narwhals (Monodon monoceros) Measured with a Vertical 16 Hydrophone Array. PLoS ONE 11(11): e0162069. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0162069

  • Laidre K. L., Moon T., Hauser D.D.W., McGovern R., Heide-Jørgensen M.P., Dietz R., Hudson B., Use of glacial fronts by narwhals (Monodon monoceros) in West Greenland. Biol. Lett. 12: 20160457, doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2016.0457, 2016.

  • Stern, H. L. and Laidre, K. L., Sea-ice indicators of polar bear habitat, The Cryosphere, 10, 2027-2041, doi:10.5194/tc-10-2027-2016, 2016.

  • Kutschera, V. E., Frosch, C., Janke, A., Skírnisson, K., Bidon, T., Lecomte, N., Fain, S. R., Eiken, H. G., Hagen, S. B., Arnason, U., Laidre, K. L., Nowak, C. and Hailer, F. (2016), High genetic variability of vagrant polar bears illustrates importance of population connectivity in fragmented sea ice habitats. Anim Conserv, 19: 337–349. doi:10.1111/acv.12250

  • Patyk, K.A., C. Duncan, P. Nol, C. Sonne, K. Laidre, M. Obbard, Ø. Wiig, J. Aars, E. Regehr, L.L. Gustafson, and T. Atwood. 2015. Establishing a definition of polar bear (Ursus maritimus) health: A guide to research and management activities. Science of the Total Environment 514:371-378.

  • Laidre, K. L., Stern, H., Kovacs, K. M., Lowry, L., Moore, S. E., Regehr, E. V., Ferguson, S. H., Wiig, Ø., Boveng, P., Angliss, R. P., Born, E. W., Litovka, D., Quakenbush, L., Lydersen, C., Vongraven, D. and Ugarte, F. (2015), Arctic marine mammal population status, sea ice habitat loss, and conservation recommendations for the 21st century. Conservation Biology. doi: 10.1111/cobi.12474

  • Laidre, K., Heide-Jorgensen, H. Stern, and P. Richard, 2012, Unusual narwahl sea ice entrapments and delayed autumn freeze-up trends, Polar Biology, 35, 149-154, doi: 10.007/s00300-001-1036-8

  • Stafford, K., K. L. Laidre, and M. P. Heide-Jørgensen. In Press. First wintertime recording of narwhals in West Greenland. Marine Mammal Science

  • Heide-Jørgensen M. P., K.L. Laidre R.G. Hansen, M.L. Burt, M. Simon, D.L. Borchers, J. Hansén, K. Harding, M. Rasmussen, R. Dietz and J. Teilmann. 2012. Rate of increase and current abundance of humpback whales in West Greenland, Journal of Cetacean Research and Management 12(1) :1-14.

  • Wiig Ø., Heide-Jørgensen M. P., K.L. Laidre, E. Garde, R Reeves. 2012. Geographic variation in cranial morphology of narwhals (Monodon monoceros) from Greenland and the Eastern Canadian Arctic. Polar Biology 35:63-71 DOI 10.1007/s00300-011-1032-z

  • Hansen, R., M. P. Heide-Jørgensen, and K. L. Laidre. In Press. Recent abundance of bowhead whales in Isabella Bay, Canada. Journal of Cetacean Research and Management.

  • Heide-Jørgensen M. P., K. L. Laidre, D. Litovka, M. Villum Jensen, J.M. Grebmeier, B.I. Sirenko. 2012. Identifying gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus) foraging grounds along the Chukotka Peninsula, Russia, using satellite telemetry. Polar Biology In Press. DOI: 10.1007/s00300-011-1151-6

  • Wilmers C. C., J. A. Estes, M. Edwards, K. L. Laidre, and B. Konar. In Press. Do trophic cascades affect the storage and flux of atmospheric carbon? An analysis for sea otters and kelp forests. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment.

  • Laidre, K. L., and M. P. Heide-Jørgensen. 2012. Springtime partitioning of Disko Bay, West Greenland by Arctic and sub-Arctic baleen whales. ICES Journal of Marine Science. In Press.

  • Laidre K.L. and M.P. Heide-Jørgensen, “Life in the lead: Extreme densities of narwhals in the offshore pack ice”, Marine Ecology Progress Series. In Press, 2011

  • Heide-Jørgensen M. P., K.L. Laidre, L. T. Quakenbush, and J. Citta. 2011. Northwest Passage opens for bowhead whales. Biology Letters. doi:10.1098/rsbl.2011.0731

  • Heide-Jørgensen, M.P., K. L. Laidre, Ø. Wiig, L. Postma, L. Dueck, L. Bachmann, “Large scale sexual segregation of bowhead whales”, Endangered Species Research 13:73-78, 2010.

  • Heide-Jørgensen M. P., K. L. Laidre, M.L. Burt, D.L. Borchers, T. A. Marques, R. G. Hansen, M. Rasmussen and S. Fossette, “Abundance of narwhals (Monodon monoceros L.) on the hunting grounds in Greenland”, Journal of Mammalogy 91(5):1135–1151, 2010

  • Laidre, K. L., M. P. Heide-Jørgensen, M. L. Logsdon, L. Delwiche, T. G. Nielsen, “A whale of an opportunity: Examining the vertical structure of high Arctic waters using space-based ocean observations and instrumented marine predators”, Marine Biology Research 6:519-529, 2010.

  • Laidre, K. L., M. P. Heide-Jørgensen, P. Heagerty, A. Cossio, B. Bergstrom, and M. Simon, “Spatial associations between large baleen whales and their prey in West Greenland”, Marine Ecology Progress Series 402:269-284, 2010.

  • Laidre, K. L., M. P. Heide-Jørgensen, W. Ermold, and M. Steele, “Narwhals document continued warming of Baffin Bay”, Journal of Geophysical Research 115: C10049, doi:10.1029/2009JC005820, 2010.

  • Heide-Jørgensen, M.P., K.L. Laidre, D. Borchers, T.A. Marques, H. Stern, and M. Simon, 2010, The effect of sea-ice loss on beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) in West Greenland’, Polar Research, doi:10.1111/j.1751-8369.2009.00142.x, 2010.

  • Heide-Jørgensen M. P., L. Witting, K.L. Laidre and  R.G. Hansen, M. Rasmussen. 2010. Estimates of minke whale abundance in West Greenland in 2007. Journal of Cetacean Research and Management 11(2):75-82.

  • Heide-Jørgensen M. P., K.L. Laidre and M. Simon, M. Rasmussen, M.L. Burt and D.L. Borchers. 2010. Abundance estimates of fin whales in West Greenland in 2007. Journal of Cetacean Research and Management 11(2):83-88.

  • Laidre, K. L., M. P. Heide-Jørgensen, W. Ermold, and M. Steele. 2010. Narwhals document continued warming of southern Baffin Bay. Journal of Geophysical Research 115: C10049, doi:10.1029/2009JC005820.

  • Born, E.W., A. Heilmann, L. Kielsen Holm, and K.L. Laidre,’ Polar bears in Northwest Greenland: an interview survey about the catch and the climate’, Monographs on Greenland, Copenhagen: Museum Tusculanum Press, 351, 250, 2010.

  • Laidre, K.L., P. Heagerty, M.P. Heide-Jørgensen, L. Witting, and M. Simon,’ Sexual segregation of common minke whales (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) and sex ratio of catches in Greenland’, ICES J. Mar. Sci, 66, 2253-2266, 2009.

  • Heide-Jørgensen, M.P., and K.L. Laidre,’ Marine apex predators’, The Greenland Ice Sheet in a Changing Climate, edited by D. Dahl-Jensen et al. Oslo, Norway, Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program, 76-78, 2009.

  • Gurarie, E., R. Andrews, and K.L. Laidre,’ A novel method for identifying behavioral changes in animal movement data’, Ecol. Lett., 12, 395-408, 2009.

  • Laidre, K. L., M. P Heide-Jørgensen, J. Nyland, A. Mosbech, and D. Boertmann, “Latitudinal gradients in sea ice and primary production determine Arctic seabird colony size in Greenland”, Proceedings of the Royal Society B. 275: 2695–2702 doi:10.1098/rspb.2008.0874, 2008.

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