VIU Science and Technology Lecture Series: Steller Sea Lion Conservation

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Wednesday, February 18th, 2015
7:00 PM to 8:00 PM

This species has suffered catastrophic declines in western Alaska since the 1970s, yet other populations in southeast Alaska, British Columbia, and the western seaboard remain healthy. As part of a coordinated, international effort, we have been using trained Steller sea lions in the laboratory to test various hypothesized reasons behind these declines, such as the Nutritional Stress hypothesis. Sea lions held at the Vancouver Aquarium (MMEaN Lab) are used to examine how changes in the biological or physical prey quality or distribution might affect the health of individual animals. Sea li0ns at the Open Water Research Lab are used for studies of diving physiology and energetics, away from the physical constraints of an aquarium. The results of this research have contributed greatly to the current scientific understanding and helped formulate and interpret research on sea lions in the wild.

http://www.marinemammal.org/consort/dr-david-rosen
https://web.viu.ca/simmsw