Scientists Attached Cameras to Sea Lions to Help Them Map Seabeds
Scientists attached cameras to endangered sea lions so that they could help them map unexplored seabeds and learn more about the animals’ behavior.
A team of scientists at the South Australian and Development Institute mounted tiny cameras and GPS tracers on eight female sea lions from two seal colonies in Olive Island and Seal Bay in South Australia in December 2022 and August 2023.
The team glued the cameras and tracking instruments on small pieces of neoprene — the material that most wetsuits are made of — that were then attached to the sea lions’ fur. The fabric is left on the sea lions’ fur, to fall off at the next molt.
In total, the filming and tracking equipment weighed less than 1% of the sea lions’ body weight and allowed them to travel freely.
According to in a study published today in Frontiers in Marine Science journal, the eight animals filmed 89 hours of incredible footage of what lies deep beneath the sea surface and helped scientists to map 1,930 square miles (5,000 square km) of habitat.
The sea lions’ video recordings allowed the scientists to learn more about seabeds, while providing critical information about the endangered and fast-disappearing marine species.
The footage revealed that Australian sea lions use specialized strategies like flipping rocks, ambush predation, and chasing to capture a variety of prey including fish, sharks, rays, and cephalopod species. It also gave incredible insight into how a mother and pup interact.
More Sea Lions Could Wear Cameras
According to The Guardian, numbers of Australian sea lions have crashed by 60% in the past 40 years, leaving only about 10,000 of them mostly spread thinly across 80 breeding sites along Australia’s south and west coastline.
However, the scientists say that the sea lions’ cameras have been a game-changer.
“Information has been so elusive [on sea lions], because they’re feeding at the bottom of the sea,” Professor Simon Goldsworthy tells The Guardian.
“Now we get this amazing, exquisite detail. They’re giving us a window into their world that we haven’t had before.
“Just like humans know our streets, the sea lions know the sea bed in intimate detail for hundreds of kilometers and they build up this knowledge over time.
“They have a mental map of their environment and they are leading you to places of profound significance for them.”
Mapping and understanding seabed habitats is typically a costly and labor-intensive process. This is usually achieved by towing cameras behind boats or placing baited cameras underwater.
But sea lions offer a more efficient alternative: they move quickly, cover larger areas, are unaffected by weather conditions, and perform the task at no expense.
Image credits: Header photo licensed via Depositphotos.
