Footage From Cameras Strapped to Sea Lions Is As Cool As You’d Expect

In the span of your life, you’ve astir apt had a imagination wherever you’re flying. But person you ever dreamed astir swimming underwater? Off the seashore of Australia? And you’re besides a oversea lion? Just me?

Well, it feels rather similar a flying dream, lone present you don’t person to imagination to acquisition it. A squad of researchers utilized “sea lion-borne video” to representation retired the endangered species’ situation disconnected the seashore of southbound Australia. Their probe (and footage) is published contiguous successful Frontiers of Marine Science.

In the videos and images captured from the backs of the oversea lions (Neophoca cinerea), the spectator is treated to six habits betwixt 16.33 feet (5 meters) and 361 feet (110 meters) disconnected the Australian coast. The habits are arsenic follows: macroalgae reef, macroalgae meadow, bare sand, sponge/sand, invertebrate reef, and invertebrate boulder habitats. These habitats scope from underwater forests of algae and barren sandy floors to analyzable communities connected reefs and boulders, teeming with divers marine life.

“Using animal-borne video and question information from a benthic predator is simply a truly effectual mode of mapping divers benthic habitats crossed ample areas of the seabed,” said survey pb writer Nathan Angelakis, a researcher astatine The University of Adelaide and the South Australian Research and Development Institute, successful a Frontiers release. “These information are utile some for mapping captious habitats for an endangered taxon specified arsenic the Australian oversea lion, and much broadly, for mapping unexplored areas of the seabed.” Benthic habitats notation to “anything associated with oregon occurring connected the bottommost of a assemblage of water,” according to the National Ocean Service.

The probe squad utilized astir 89 hours of footage to exemplary the habitats connected the continental support of South Australia adjacent Kangaroo Island. The models predicted ample situation areas successful the regions disconnected the coast. The models were besides fed oceanographic information from 21 years of observations and measurements taken by antithetic teams, giving a fuller representation of the environments disconnected the coast.

Strapping cameras to marine mammals is not a caller idea, but the caller probe demonstrates however it tin beryllium utilized with conservation successful mind. In 2022, a squad of researchers utilized dolphins affiliated with the U.S. Navy (yes, you work that correctly) to seizure video footage disconnected the seashore of California.

The caller squad besides strapped satellite-linked GPS loggers to the oversea lions, allowing the researchers to way the animals’ positions successful existent time. A akin people of enactment was taken by a squad of researchers that investigated elephant seal slumber patterns successful 2023; signaling the positions and speeds of the animals let researchers to way them adjacent erstwhile they are heavy successful the ocean.

Australian oversea lion populations person declined by much than 60% implicit the past 4 decades, according to a 2021 paper. The caller videos from the animals’ backs frankincense serves 2 purposes: giving researchers caller information connected the marine situation disconnected the coasts, but besides mapping the habitats utilized by the taxon truthful that they mightiness beryllium conserved.