which assessed damage and potential for remediation, and was a basis for fining Exxon and BP after their respective oil spills of 1989 and 2010. Ben-David has focused deeply on the river otter (Lontra canadensis), examining it in its role as a sentinel species and also using it as a model for predicting effects of pollutants on the rarer and more difficult to study sea otter (Enhydra lutris). She has carried out work with Alaskan otters for over 30 years. Her field studies of chemical bioaccumulation have gained international attention. She began studying the impact of human activity and climate change on polar bears in 2001. She has worked for nearly 20 years with Steven Amstrup to study polar bear ecology in the Beaufort Sea and other areas. One of the behavioral patterns she has observed via satellite tracking is that polar bears show high fidelity to the local area of ocean in which they live. As sea ice is thinning, it drifts faster, requiring polar bears to walk farther each day on the ice to retain their position. This increases the energy requirements of the bears while decreasing their available time to hunt. Models project that polar bear populations may collapse by 2080. In 2004, she began another long-term project, studying chipmunks that live in the Laramie Mountains. One of the findings of Ben-David and her students is that chipmunks are more likely to survive the shorter winters resulting from climate change. Ben-David also studies river otters of the Powder River Basin, and the effects of nearby oil drilling. Her work has revealed low populations of otters in the New Fork River, compared to areas nearby. Ben-David has received a variety of awards for her work including the Barrett-Hamilton distinguished ecologist award from the University of Manitoba in 2012 and the Excellence in Wildlife Education award from The Wildlife Society in 2016. She was selected as a Wildlife Fellow of the Wildlife Society in 2017. ‍ Personal life Ben-David has resided in Laramie, Wyoming, since 2000, and was naturalized as a United States citizen in 2009. Politics Ben-David announced her candidacy for the 2020 U.S. Senate election at the 2020 Wyoming Women's March in Cheyenne, Wyoming, on January 18, 2020. On August 18, 2020, she placed first in a field of six candidates to become the Democratic nominee. Ben-David's platform centered on 'future-proofing' Wyoming's economy through diversification, including public