abstract
The ability of animals to contend with unpredictable seasonal shifts in quality and quantity of prey has implications for the conservation of wildlife. Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus) were subjected to different quantities and qualities of food to determine what physiological and endocrine responses would occur and whether they differed between season (summer and winter) or diet (high-lipid Pacific herring Clupea pallasi vs. low-lipid walleye pollock Theragra chalcogramma). Eight females were divided among two groups. One (Group H) were fed herring for 28 days (baseline), then received a reduced caloric intake for a subsequent 28 days (restriction) to induce a 15% loss of body mass. The second (Group P) were also fed herring during the baseline followed by a reduced isocaloric diet of pollock during the restriction. Both groups subsequently returned to their baseline intake of herring for a 28-day controlled re-feeding. The two groups of sea lions lost identical mass during restrictions independent of species eaten, but did differ in the type of internal energy reserve (protein vs. lipids) they predominantly used. Group H lost significantly more lipids and less lean mass than Group P in both seasons. In summer, Group H also increased activity levels and decreased thermoregulation capacity to optimize energy allocation. No such changes were observed for Group P whose capacity to adjust to the reduced caloric intake seemed to have been blocked by the pollock diet. During winter, the sea lions spared energy allocated to activity (especially Group H) and preserved thermoregulation capacity. Changes in body mass was negatively related to free cortisol and positively related to IGF-1 in winter, but only IGF-1 was related to changes in mass in summer when lean mass regulation seemed more important. Levels of IGF-1 were associated with changes in protein metabolism in both seasons for both groups, but changes in body condition were never explained by the measured metabolites or hormones. The cap! acity to compensate for mass loss was seasonally dependent with sea lions displaying compensatory growth (by restoring lipid stores) in winter but not in summer. Summer appears to be a more difficult season for sea lions to recover from mild nutritional stress. These physiological findings can be used to refine bioenergetic models needed for the conservation of Steller sea lion populations.

abstract
Knowing the quantity of prey that sea lions consume is a prerequisite for assessing the role of sea lions in aquatic ecosystems and the potential for competition to occur with fisheries. We reviewed the different approaches that have been used to estimate the food requirements for the six species of sea lions. We reviewed data on the quantity of food consumed by sea lions in captivity, and examined how consumption varied by species, body size, and season. We also reviewed and quantified available information on the energetics of sea lions and assessed the potential application of these data to parameterize an existing bioenergetic model that was developed to estimate the food requirements of Steller sea lions. Our study provided ranges of estimates of food consumption for sea lions that can be used in various modeling strategies to assess the impact of sea lions on prey populations, including commercially exploited fish species. The approaches reviewed in our study shared common difficulties arising from the quantity and quality of data, and the integration of data across scales and species. Our modeling exercise, in particular, identified the major uncertainties involved in estimating the food requirements of each sea lion species using an energetics approach. Our results provide direction for future research aimed at improving the accuracy and comparability of estimates of food consumption for sea lions.

abstract
The decline of Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus) in the Gulf of Alaska appears to have been associated with a switch of diet from one dominated by fatty forage fishes (such as her-ring; Clupea pallasi ) to one dominated by low-fat fish (such as pollock; Theragra chalco-gramma). Observations made during the decline include reduced body size of sea lions, low pregnancy rates, and high mortality. We used the general mammalian model, the laboratory rat (Rattus norvegicus ), to test whether changing the quality of prey consumed could cause changes in size and reproductive performance. Five groups of twelve fiale, weanling rats were fed diets composed of herring (H), pollock (P), pollock suppliented with herring oil (PH), pollock suppliented with pollock oil (PP), or a sii-purified diet (ICN). Mean body weights were greatest for H, followed by PH, P, PP and finally ICN, although ICN was the only group significantly different from the others (P 0·05). Food intakes before mating were 10 % higher for groups on the lower-fat diets (P and ICN), resulting in similar energy intakes in all groups. The protein efficiency ratio was highest for the H diet, slightly lower for all pollock diets, and significantly lower for ICN (P 0·05). The fetal weights for mothers fed P were significantly reduced (P 0·05). The present study shows that the energy content was a major limiting factor in the nutritional quality of pollock. When food intake was adjusted to meet energetic requirients, there were no detrimental consequences from eating pollock. However, supplientation of pollock meal with additional pollock oil may reduce growth and reproductive performance, although the reasons for this were not apparent.

abstract
Growth rates of vibrissae (whiskers), which act as a temporal record of feeding in harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) and Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus), were estimated using 13 C- and 15 N-labeled glycine followed by stable-isotope analysis. The labeled glycine was incorporated into keratin and served as a temporal marker for growth-rate calculation. One captive harbor seal received two doses 147 days apart, while a second seal received one dose; vibrissae were analyzed after 86 and 154 days. The peak positions indicated that growth began in the fall, continued into spring, but ceased in June, with active growth rates of 0.33 mm/day. Two adult captive Steller sea lions each re-ceived two labeled doses during a 308-day period. After 427 days vibrissae in both sea lions showed two peaks corre-sponding to the markers; growth rates were calculated as 0.05–0.07 mm/day. Growth rates in captive juvenile and wild adult Steller sea lions, 0.10–0.17 mm/day, supported the assumption that major isotopic oscillations in vibrissae of wild sea lions were annual. The multiyear records imply that Steller sea lions retain their vibrissae; harbor seal vibrissae, in contrast, have periods of rapid growth and appear to be shed, at least in part, annually.

abstract
Growth models (mass and length) were constructed for male (>1 year old), female (>1 year old), and pregnant female Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus) shot on rookeries or haulouts, or in coastal waters of southeastern Alaska, the Gulf of Alaska, or the Bering Sea ice edge between 1976 and 1989. The Richards model best described growth in body length and mass. Females with fetuses were 3 cm longer and 28 kg heavier on average than females of the same age without fetuses. Males grew in length over a longer period than did females and exhibited a growth spurt in mass that coincided with sexual maturity between 5 and 7 years of age. Average predicted standard lengths of males and females >12 years of age were 3.04 and 2.32 m, respectively, and average predicted masses were 681 and 273 kg, respectively. Maximum recorded mass was 910 kg for an adult male. Males achieved 90% of their asymptotic length and mass by 8 and 9 years of age, respectively, compared with 4 and 13 years, respectively, for females. Residuals of the size-at-age models indicated seasonal changes in growth rates. Young animals (<6 years old) and adult males grew little during the breeding season (May–July), and adult males did not resume growth until sometime after November.

abstract
Compared to terrestrial mammals, marine mammals are generally perceived as having elevated metabolic rates and insatiable appetites, attributable to maintaining their high body core temperatures in a cold aquatic environment. The perception that marine mammals have higher metabolic rates than terrestrial mammals of similar body size is reinforced by a substantial body of literature that dates over half a century (Sergeant, 1973; Lavigne, 1982) and is further supported by reports of captive marine mammals ingesting large quantities of food (Sergeant, 1969, 1973; Bonner, 1982). However, within the past two decades, this convention has been challenged. Lavigne et al. (1986) failed to reject the hypothesis that physically mature phocids (true seals) have similar basal metabolic rates (BMRs) as terrestrial mammals of similar body weight, when measured under standard conditions. Innes et al. (1987) found similar results when comparing feeding rates (FRs) of seals and whales. However, much research has been conducted on the FRs and BMRs of marine mammals since these studies were completed. In our study, we re-investigated whether basal metabolic and feeding rates of marine mammals are similar to those predicted for terrestrial mammals. We also explored relationships between taxa and were able to predict the basal metabolic rates of species of marine mammals not previously studied. These estimates can also be used to assess the amount of prey consumed by species of marine mammals whose metabolisms have never been determined in the field or in the lab.

abstract
Twelve dead Steller sea lion pups (Eumetopias jubatus) aged 3-14 d were recovered from rookeries in Southeast Alaska. They had a wide range of body sizes and conditions (small to large and fat to no fat). The ability of calipers to estimate the thickness of their blubber layer was assessed with a set of skinfold calipers. Average error of measurement for skin and blubber thickness was an acceptable 5.4%, but the skin and blubber of the pups were highly compressible. Skinfold thickness increased with body mass but did not necessarily reflect the development of blubber, given that pups with no blubber also showed an increase in skinfold thickness with increases in body mass. Skinfold thickness of sea lion pups appears to predict body size better than it predicts blubber thickness, making it difficult if not impossible to develop a simple index of body condition or a calculation of percent body fat for Steller sea lion pups from skinfold caliper measurements.

abstract
Dry-matter digestibility and energy digestive efficiency were measured in six juvenile Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus) fed three diets each consisting of a single species: herring, pollock, and squid. Two of the animals were also fed pink salmon. Dry-matter digestibility (DMD) and digestive efficiency (DE) were measured using the energy and manganese concentration in fecal and food samples. DE values were high for all prey species (herring: 95.4 &amp;plusmn; 0.7% (mean &amp;plusmn; SD), pollock: 93.9 &amp;plusmn; 1.4%, salmon: 93.4 &amp;plusmn; 0.5%, squid: 90.4 &amp;plusmn; 1.3%). Steller sea lions appear to digest prey of high energy density more efficiently than prey of low energy density. DMD values were also high for all prey species (herring: 90.1 &amp;plusmn; 1.8%, pollock: 86.5 &amp;plusmn; 3.4%, salmon: 87.3% &amp;plusmn; 2.6, squid: 90.5 &amp;plusmn; 1.2%). The low DMD value for pollock compared with herring and squid was due to the high proportion of bony material in pollock. There was a strong linear relationship between DE and DMD for each prey type, but the terms cannot be used interchange-ably. DE measures are more meaningful than DMD in conveying the energetic benefits derived by sea lions from dif-ferent types of prey. Species-specific measures of the digestible energy obtained from an array of prey items are a necessary component in understanding the bioenergetic consequences of consuming different prey species.

abstract
Drag forces acting on Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus) were investigated from ‘deceleration during glide’ measurements. A total of 66 glides from six juvenile sea lions yielded a mean drag coefficient (referenced to total wetted surface area) of 0.0056 at a mean Reynolds number of 5.5´10 6 . The drag values indicate that the boundary layer is largely turbulent for Steller sea lions swimming at these Reynolds numbers, which are past the point of expected transition from laminar to turbulent flow. The position of maximum thickness (at 34 % of the body length measured from the tip of the nose) was more anterior than for a ‘laminar’ profile, supporting the idea that there is little laminar flow. The Steller sea lions in our study were characterized by a mean fineness ratio of 5.55. Their streamlined shape helps to delay flow separation, reducing total drag. In addition, turbulent boundary layers are more stable than laminar ones. Thus, separation should occur further back on the animal. Steller sea lions are the largest of the otariids and swam faster than the smaller California sea lions (Zalophus californianus). The mean glide velocity of the individual Steller sea lions ranged from 2.9 to 3.4ms -1 or 1.2–1.5 body lengths s -1 . These length-specific speeds are close to the optimum swim velocity of 1.4 body lengths s -1 based on the minimum cost of transport for California sea lions.

abstract
The thickness and weight of skin, blubber, and body core were measured from 12 dead Steller sea lion pups (Eumetopias jubatus). These necropsied pups represented a wide range of body sizes and conditions (small to large, and fat to no-fat), and were chosen to compare the relative body conditions of healthy and starved pups. Seven of the pups lacked blubber and were significantly lighter for a given length compared to the five that had fat at their time of death. Volume exceeded mass by a factor of 1.3% with density averaging 0.987g cm-3. Skin and blubber were not uniformly thick over the body surface. Skin was thinnest on the head and around the flippers (3mm), and became thicker towards the rump (5mm). Skin thickness did not differ between dorsal and ventral sides, unlike blubber, which was thickest on the ventral side, increasing from the snout (1.5mm)to midtrunk (7mm) and decreasing posteriorly (5mm at the tail). Along the back, blubber increased from 1 mm at the snout to about 4.5mm at mid-trunk. The five pups that died of trauma had about 13% skin and 10% blubber (expressed as a proportion of total body mass). Starvelings lost an estimated 43% of their body mass before dying (10% blubber, and 33% body core). Morphometric measurements applied to three proposed indices of body condition suggest that girth is not a good predictor of body condition for Steller sea lion pups. Only the ratio of observed to predicted body mass derived from standardized mass-length relationships could distinguish starvelings from pups with body fat.

keywords     morphometric measurements, body condition, Steller sea lions, pups, skin, volume, density, starvation, #2

abstract
Five juvenile Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus) between the ages of 3 and 4 years were experimentally fasted for 9 to 14 d to assess changes in mass and in key plasma metabolites indicative of biochemical adaptation to fasting. The 5 sea lions lost 20.4 to 35.1 kg each, at a rate of 1 to 2% of their initial body mass per day. Two animals fasted during the natural breeding season (June) exhibited a mean daily loss of 1.6 +/- 0.1kg d-1. This was significantly lower than the mean 2.8 +/- 0.1kg d-1 lost by sea lions fasted outside the normal breeding season in April, October and November (p<0.001). The two sea lion studied in June maintained low BUN concentrations throughout the remainder of the study, while the remaining 3 animals showed significant increases after 7 d of fasting. Only the two juveniles fasted during the breeding season maintained a protein sparing metabolism, typical of the species adapted to long-term fasting. With the exception of the smallest female (after 12 d of fasting), ketone body levels ranged from 0.03 to 0.17 mM. Seasonal differences in how sea lions adapt to fasting suggests that these animals would be more severely impacted by limited food resources during the non-breeding season.

abstract
Diets of six Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus) were switched between a high (herring) and a low (squid) energy density food for 14 d to determine the effects on ingested prey mass, body mass, resting metabolic rate, and the heat increment of feeding. Body mass was measured daily, and resting metabolism was measured weekly by gas respiro-metry. Ingested food mass did not differ significantly be-tween the squid diet and the control or the recovery herring diet periods. As a result of differences in energy density, gross energy intake was significantly lower during the squid diet phase than during either the control or recovery pe-riods. As a result, sea lions lost an average of 1.1 kg/d, totaling 12.2% of their initial body mass by the end of the experimental period. The heat increment of feeding for a 4-kg squid meal was significantly lower than for a similarly sized meal of herring. Decreases in both absolute (24.0 to 18.0 MJ/d, 224%) and mass-corrected (903 to 697 kJ/d/ kg 0.67 , 220%) metabolism were observed by the end of the squid feedings. This study suggests that sea lions can depress their resting metabolism in response to decreases in energy intake or body mass, regardless of satiation level.