Steller sea lion research > Nutritional Stress >Energy Requirements

Energy Expenditures of Steller Sea Lions

Energy requirements:

To determine how much food a sea lion needs, scientists measure the costs associated with various activities, including swimming, diving, thermoregulation, and metabolism.

Values derived from test animals can then be incorporated into bioenergetic computer models. The models allow researchers to estimate energetic costs under different circumstances and to predict the effects of different environmental conditions on Steller sea lions.

Metabolism:
The amount of energy sea lions use can be measured from oxygen consumption, heart rate and water turnover rates.
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Swimming:
Although well adapted to life in the ocean, swimming is still one of the largest energetic costs to sea lions. Trained sea lions are used to determine how expensive it is for sea lions to swim at different speeds.
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Thermoregulation:
Steller sea lions live in the cold waters of the North Pacific. Scientists measure the amount of energy they need to stay warm, and whether eating large meals help them do so.
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DIVING:
Sea lions are remarkable divers. Scientists are measuring how much it costs to dive to depth and what factors affect their total costs of diving. These studies are being conducted through the Open Water project.

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last updated 19 Feb. 2007