Determining the value of fecal hormones for evaluating sources of stress in wild Otariids, Vancouver, BC, Canada from 2010-2011

This study examined the capacity of cortisol, T3, and T4 hormones to identify periods of nutritional stress in Steller sea lions, and whether fecal hormones provide a reliable alternate sampling matrix. This dataset contains matched blood and fecal samples collected from 4 captive Steller sea lions (during 2010-2011) as they were undergoing controlled diet manipulations, including a period of imposed nutritional stress, at the Marine Mammal Energetics and Nutrition Laboratory (Vancouver, BC, Canada). Measurements of body mass and resting metabolic rate were also collected throughout the 10-week study.