{"id":601239,"date":"2024-04-07T10:47:55","date_gmt":"2024-04-07T14:47:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/?p=601239"},"modified":"2024-08-16T11:42:18","modified_gmt":"2024-08-16T15:42:18","slug":"signed-sealed-and-delivered-a-thrilling-trip-to-the-ringed-seals-arctic-habitat-with-scientist-katie-florko","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/all\/signed-sealed-and-delivered-a-thrilling-trip-to-the-ringed-seals-arctic-habitat-with-scientist-katie-florko\/","title":{"rendered":"Signed, SEALED, and Delivered! A Thrilling Trip to the Ringed Seal&#8217;s Arctic Habitat with Scientist Katie Florko"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"\/EN\/CA\/wp-content\/uploads\/P1130677-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-601240\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-content\/uploads\/P1130677-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-content\/uploads\/P1130677-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-content\/uploads\/P1130677-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-content\/uploads\/P1130677-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-content\/uploads\/P1130677-150x113.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-content\/uploads\/P1130677-696x522.jpg 696w, https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-content\/uploads\/P1130677-1068x801.jpg 1068w, https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-content\/uploads\/P1130677-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Hello, Earth Rangers! My name is Katie Florko. I am a research scientist who studies Arctic marine mammal movement patterns and behaviour. I recently finished my PhD at the University of British Columbia. Most of my work takes place in Hudson Bay, in the far north of Canada.&nbsp;This year, when you adopt a ringed seal from Earth Rangers, you&#8217;re supporting me and my research! You can learn more about ringed seals and adopt one in the Earth Rangers App.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"\/EN\/CA\/wp-content\/uploads\/C05_3327-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-601241\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-content\/uploads\/C05_3327-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-content\/uploads\/C05_3327-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-content\/uploads\/C05_3327-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-content\/uploads\/C05_3327-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-content\/uploads\/C05_3327-2048x1366.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-content\/uploads\/C05_3327-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-content\/uploads\/C05_3327-696x464.jpg 696w, https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-content\/uploads\/C05_3327-1068x712.jpg 1068w, https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-content\/uploads\/C05_3327-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Since September, I&#8217;ve been busy analyzing ringed seal movement&nbsp;patterns. These seals wore tags that recorded their movement and diving patterns. From this, we&#8217;re able to see where seals forage for food and what areas might be important to protect. This is a tricky project!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"\/EN\/CA\/wp-content\/uploads\/DSC_5042-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-601242\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-content\/uploads\/DSC_5042-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-content\/uploads\/DSC_5042-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-content\/uploads\/DSC_5042-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-content\/uploads\/DSC_5042-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-content\/uploads\/DSC_5042-2048x1366.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-content\/uploads\/DSC_5042-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-content\/uploads\/DSC_5042-696x464.jpg 696w, https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-content\/uploads\/DSC_5042-1068x712.jpg 1068w, https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-content\/uploads\/DSC_5042-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>On one hand, we think the most important areas to protect are the areas the seals are spending the most time. But these tend to be the areas with the least fish, where it takes the seals longer to look for food. My research helps to measure seals&#8217; movements through fish populations. That way, we can better understand which areas we need to protect to help seals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"\/EN\/CA\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_7075-1024x768.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-601243\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_7075-1024x768.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_7075-300x225.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_7075-768x576.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_7075-1536x1151.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_7075-150x112.jpeg 150w, https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_7075-696x522.jpeg 696w, https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_7075-1068x801.jpeg 1068w, https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_7075-1920x1439.jpeg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>And that&#8217;s not all! I&#8217;m also involved in projects on harbour seals and narwhals. This past summer, I was able to help out with tagging harbour seals in western Hudson Bay. I also went on aerial surveys in the high Arctic, where we saw walrus, narwhals, and lots of seals! <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"\/EN\/CA\/wp-content\/uploads\/C05_3496-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-601244\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-content\/uploads\/C05_3496-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-content\/uploads\/C05_3496-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-content\/uploads\/C05_3496-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-content\/uploads\/C05_3496-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-content\/uploads\/C05_3496-2048x1366.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-content\/uploads\/C05_3496-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-content\/uploads\/C05_3496-696x464.jpg 696w, https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-content\/uploads\/C05_3496-1068x712.jpg 1068w, https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-content\/uploads\/C05_3496-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Fieldwork for tagging seals typically happens from the ice edge in the spring, or from the shore in the summer. This is the most exciting part of the job! But an equally important and <em>almost<\/em> as fun part is spending the fall and winter uncovering the secret lives of seals through the data we collect from their tags. My fellow scientists and I use this data to piece together the story. Then we share our insights with each other and with folks who work to protect seals. Before we know it, we&#8217;re planning next spring&#8217;s fieldwork!<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"173\" src=\"\/EN\/CA\/wp-content\/uploads\/RingedSeal-SponsorPlatesENG.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-599168\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-content\/uploads\/RingedSeal-SponsorPlatesENG.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-content\/uploads\/RingedSeal-SponsorPlatesENG-300x87.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-content\/uploads\/RingedSeal-SponsorPlatesENG-150x43.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Hello, Earth Rangers! My name is Katie Florko. I am a research scientist who studies Arctic marine mammal movement patterns and behaviour. I recently finished my PhD at the University of British Columbia. Most of my work takes place in Hudson Bay, in the far north of Canada.&nbsp;This year, when you adopt a ringed seal [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":180827,"featured_media":598968,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[931],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-601239","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-all"},"pp_force_visibility":null,"pp_subpost_visibility":null,"pp_inherited_force_visibility":null,"pp_inherited_subpost_visibility":null,"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/601239","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/180827"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=601239"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/601239\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/598968"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=601239"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=601239"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.earthrangers.com\/EN\/CA\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=601239"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}