Alumni
MSc 2006
Supervisor
Dr Andrew Trites
Thesis
Steller Watch: timing of weaning and seasonal patterns in numbers and activities of Steller sea lions at a year-round haulout site in Southeast Alaska.
Variability in length of lactation and maternal association allows otariids flexibility to buffer their young against changes in nutrition. It also increases the chance of their young surviving to sexual maturity, which is particularly important in a declining species such as Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus). Timing of weaning is a critically important event in mammalian development that can affect subsequent aspects of an animal’s adult life, and may hold the key to understanding the population dynamics of Steller sea lions. Unfortunately no studies have yet fully documented the behavioural ecology of Steller sea lions outside of the breeding season.
The goal of my study was to document suckling behaviour over 13 consecutive months to determine the timing of weaning for male and female Steller sea lions under three years of age at Southwest Brothers Island, Southeast Alaska (July 2004 – July 2005). I also wanted to ascertain the haulout patterns and activity levels of the colony in relation to season, prey availability, time of day, and weather. Finally, I sought to evaluate the feasibility of using an automated, time-lapse camera system to monitor sea lions and its potential for future use.
Male Steller sea lions were found to suckle longer than females, with a greater proportion of males than females suckling at one year. Time spent suckling declined with age suggesting that the animals became more independent as they grew older, most likely as they increased their ability to forage successfully on their own. Male sea lions that remained with their mother for longer than one year may have had reduced exposure to predation, and obtained more calories with less energy expenditure from milk, compared to females that became nutritionally independent sooner. As a result, this may provide males with a chance to grow as big as possible, as fast as possible, and increase their ability to hold a territory and have access to mates later in life.
The number of sea lions onshore at Southwest Brothers Island was influenced by weather on a daily time-scale, but also displayed seasonal changes that may have been related to prey availability and the timing of breeding. The colony abandoned the island mid-March to mid-April, coinciding with the herring spawn and eulachon runs, which are high-fat species and spatio-temporally predictable prey. High daily variability in numbers of animals at Southwest Brothers likely reflected movement of animals to and from other nearby haulouts. Activity levels varied throughout the year, with proportionally more animals resting in the summer and more animals engaged in low activities in the winter. This suggests a higher behavioural expenditure of energy in the winter, contributing to their need for high quality nutrition.
June and July is an optimum time to assess sea lion numbers due to the high number of animals onshore at that time and a greater predictability in sea lion behaviour. The counts obtained from the automated time-lapse camera system’s digital images correlated with counts obtained from direct observation (r2 = 0.99). The direct counts were on average 22% greater than the digital images. While direct observation is the best method for obtaining a greater variety of data, the camera systems have a good potential to be used to monitor Steller sea lions and other species when researchers cannot be physically present.
Publications
Steller Watch: timing of weaning and seasonal patterns in numbers and activities of Steller sea lions at a year-round haulout site in Southeast Alaska. Marcotte, M.L. 2006. M.Sc. thesis, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC. 82 pages (PDF)