Mapping critical Australian sea lion habitat with animal-borne instruments (NESP MaC 2.6)

This project aimed to identify and map critical habitats for Australian sea lions (Neophoca cinerea) to assess the ecological value of different habitats, and identify risks to their populations. Video imagery, GPS, time-depth and accelerometer/magnetometer data was captured from eight adult female Australian sea lions from Olive Island (n=4) on the western Eyre Peninsula and Seal Bay (n=4) on Kangaroo Island in South Australia. Sea lions were instrumented with animal-borne cameras with integrated accelerometers/magnetometers (CATS Cam, 135 x 96 x 40 mm, 400 g) and satellite-linked GPS loggers with integrated time-depth recorders (SPLASH-10, Wildlife Computers, 100 x 65 x 32 mm, 200 g). Sea lions were sedated and anaesthetised and bio-logging instruments were glued to the pelage on the dorsal midline. Bio-logging instruments were recovered after a single foraging trip (~1-6 days).The data collected in this project provides fundamental information on critical benthic habitats for Australian sea lions, the differences in foraging behaviour of individual sea lions, and their prey preferences. This information improves our understanding of threats to sea lion populations and will support future conservation actions to recover the species.

本项目旨在识别并绘制澳大利亚海狮（Neophoca cinerea）的关键栖息地，以评估不同栖息地的生态价值，并明确其种群面临的威胁。研究从南澳大利亚州艾尔半岛西部的橄榄岛（n=4）和袋鼠岛海豹湾（n=4）的8只成年雌性澳大利亚海狮身上采集了视频影像、GPS、时间深度数据以及加速度计/磁强计数据。研究人员为海狮佩戴了集成加速度计/磁强计的动物背负式摄像机（CATS Cam，尺寸135×96×40 mm，重量400 g）以及集成时间深度记录仪的卫星关联GPS记录器（SPLASH-10，Wildlife Computers，尺寸100×65×32 mm，重量200 g）。操作前先对海狮进行镇静与麻醉，随后将生物记录仪器粘贴在其背部中线的被毛上。单次觅食行程（约1至6天）结束后，即可回收该生物记录仪器。本项目采集的数据可为澳大利亚海狮的关键底栖生境、个体间觅食行为差异以及猎物偏好提供基础研究资料。该资料可加深我们对海狮种群所面临威胁的认知，并将为后续该物种的种群恢复保护行动提供支撑。