I want to investigate if climate change has altered marine mammal magnetic sensing in the Arctic, specifically directional behavior. Magnetic sensing is the process by which organisms use Earth's magnetic field to sense their surroundings. Climate change has caused dramatic shifts in ice cover, leading ice-dependent marine mammals to change their population distributions. Change such as this has negative implications for population survival, prey availability, predator exposure, limited reproductive success, poor health, mortality, and more. By exploring if there is a correlation between magnetic sensing, directional behavior, and climate change, it can be determined whether internal magnetic sensing mechanisms have altered alongside climate change, leading to significant ecological and behavioral challenges. 

I want to develop key actions to lessen the impact of climate change on marine mammals and create effective policy that lawmakers, scientists, and the public agree upon. Policy is a necessary tool for environmental protections. Effective policy comes from considering all avenues, perspectives, and diverse backgrounds. Policy regarding the natural world is an area of conflict, as different industries push for natural resource exploitation, there are economic implications, and territorial boundaries can create grey areas of resource authority. In relation to marine mammals, these species hold cultural, intrinsic, economic, and environmental importance. It is humanity’s responsibility to take care of the environment that we have degraded, especially as it holds an unmeasurable amount of value. Through interdisciplinary policy, marine mammals can be supported in a constantly changing environment and society.