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Bear Necessities

WHOI biologist Cabell Davis photographed this Arctic denizen when he served as principal scientist on the Elysium Artists for the Arctic Expedition in fall 2015. Led by Michael Aw of the Explorers Club, the expedition helped raise public awareness about the warming Arctic. Davis used his video plankton recorder to study how plankton from the Atlantic penetrate into the Arctic. WHOI biologists Peter Wiebe and Ann Bucklin were also aboard sampling plankton with net tows. WHOI biologists have also studied polar bears. In a 2008 study, Hal Caswell showed how sea ice is critical for bears’ survival, breeding, and population growth.(Photo by Cabell S. Davis, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)