Research Projects >Physiological Studies of Captive Northern Fur Seals

Physiological Studies of Captive Northern Fur Seals

A captive Northern Fur Seal research program will be established to expand the scope of scientific investigation to include changes that have occurred in the North Pacific ecosystem.

Studies of a number of marine mammal species in the North Pacific indicate that observed population changes in the last three decades are systematic of ecosystem-wide factors. This project will establish a captive northern fur seal research program to expand the scope of scientific investigations to include changes in the North Pacific ecosystem. The program will conduct studies on trained animals to elucidate the reasons for the population decline and to formulate science-based plans for species recovery. Specific experiments will investigate aspects of fur seal physiology, nutrition, and energetics.

Several species of marine mammals in the North Pacific have experienced large population declines in the last decades, including harbor seals, Steller sea lions, sea otters, and northern fur seals. The declines appear to be neither uniform across a speciesí range, nor temporally consistent across species. Studies have suggested that the population declines may be related to ecosystem-wide changes induced by natural environmental shifts (North Pacific Decadal Oscillation), wide-ranging but localized impacts of commercial fishing, or even changes in the predator-prey relationships resulting from previous whaling activity.

Project Outline:
Since 1993 the Consortium has implemented a research program using trained, captive Steller sea lions, as well as harbor seals, and beluga whales. The program has conducted valuable studies that could not be carried out in the wild. This expertise will be expanded to the study of northern fur seals by establishing a parallel captive research program with these animals. The objectives of the study are to establish a captive northern fur seal research program to conduct studies of physiology, energetics, and nutrition, including baseline measures of growth and metabolism; determine the fasting capabilities of young fur seals, and its interaction with thermal demands; establish blood biochemistry and hematology parameters that can be used as bioindicators of nutritional stress in northern fur seals; determine the pattern of tissue catabolism during periods of under-nutrition; and to estimate the maximum food intake levels of young northern fur seals.

This research program will directly contribute to our understanding of northern fur seals, and diversify the scientific interests of the Consortium in response to changing scientific and financial interests. The proposed northern fur seal research program will use the experience and strengths of the Consortium to expand its investigation of ecosystem-wide effects on marine vertebrates in the North Pacific.

Principle Investigators:
David Rosen University of British Columbia
Andrew Trites, University of British Columbia

Funding Source:
NOAA and the North Pacific Marine Science Foundation