The Steller sea lion (Eumetopias jubatus), also known as Steller's sea lion or the northern sea lion, is a large, near-threatened species of sea lion, predominantly found in the coastal marine habitats of the northeast Pacific Ocean and the Pacific Northwest regions of North America, from north-central California to Oregon, Washington and British Columbia to Alaska. Its range continues across the Northern Pacific and the Aleutian Islands, all the way to Kamchatka, Magadan Oblast, and the Sea of Okhotsk, south to Honshu's northern coastline. It is the sole member of the genus Eumetopias, and the largest of the so-called eared seals (Otariidae). Among pinnipeds, only the walrus and the two species of elephant seal are bigger. The species is named for the naturalist and explorer Georg Wilhelm Steller, who first described them in 1741. Steller sea lions have attracted considerable attention in recent decades, both from scientists and the general public, due to significant (and largely unexplained) declines in their numbers over an extensive portion of their northern range, notably in Alaska.
Description
Adult animals are lighter in color than most sea lions, ranging from pale yellow to tawny and occasionally reddish. Steller sea lion pups are born almost black, weighing around , and remain dark in coloration for several months. Females reach sexual maturity between four and six years of age, while males have a wider window, reaching maturity between three and eight years of age. Females and males both grow rapidly until the fifth year, after which female growth slows considerably. Adult females measure in length, on average being , and weigh , with an average of .Steller Sea Lions, Eumetopias jubatus. marinebio.orgSteller Sea Lions . Northwest Regional Office. noaa.gov Males continue to grow until their secondary sexual traits appear in their fifth to eighth year. Males are slightly longer than the females, growing to about long and averaging in length. Males have much wider chests, necks, and general forebody structure. Males can weigh between , weighing on average .Keranen, Danielle. Eumetopias jubatus. Steller sea lion. Animal Diversity WebOlesiuk, Peter F, and Bigg, Michael A. (~1984) Marine mammals in British Columbia. Males are further distinguished from females by broader and higher foreheads, flatter snouts, and a thick mane of coarse hair around their large necks. Their Latin name translates roughly as "maned one with the broad forehead".
Range
The range of the Steller sea lion extends from the north shore of Honshu in Japan to the Gulf of Alaska in the north, down to Año Nuevo Island off the coast of central California and Oregon to the south. They formerly bred as far south as the Channel Islands, but have not been observed there since the 1980s. Based on genetic anаlyses and local migration patterns, the global Steller sea lion population has traditionally been divided into an eastern and western stock at 144°W longitude, roughly through the middle of the Gulf of Alaska.Alaska Marine Mammal Stock Assessments, 2009. (PDF) . Retrieved on 16 September 2011.Allen, B. M., and R. P. Angliss (revised 25 November 2008) NOAA-TM-AFSC-206. STELLER SEA LION (Eumetopias jubatus): Eastern U. S. Stock. (PDF). Recent evidence suggests the sea lions in Russia in the Sea of Okhotsk and the Kuril Islands comprise a third Asian stock, while the sea lions on the eastern seaboard of Kamchatka and the Commander Islands belong to the western stock.
In the summer, Steller sea lions tend to shift their range somewhat southward. Therefore, though there are no reproductive rookeries in Japan, several consistent haul-out sites are found around Hokkaidō in the winter and spring. Vagrants have been spotted in the Yellow Sea and Bohai Gulf and along the coast of the Korean Peninsula and China."Steller Sea Lion (Eumetopias jubatus)" Seal Conservation Society Accessed 25 April 2013 The oldest fossil known of the species was found near Kanazawa, Japan and dates to the late Early Pleistocene, approximately 800,000 years ago.
Ecology
Habitat Steller sea lions tend to live in the coastal waters of the subarctic because of the cooler temperate climate of the area. Like all otariids, Steller sea lions are amphibious and spend some time in water and some on land. Typically, Steller sea lions spend their time in the water feeding but haul-out onto land to reproduce, raise their pups, molt, and rest. Steller sea lions usually congregate on isolated islands because they are the ideal terrestrial habitat. These isolated islands are preferred by Steller sea lions because they can avoid predation from terrestrial predators, easily thermoregulate (by means of cooling winds), and access offshore prey more easily. Some haul-out sites, known as rookeries, are commonly used for reproduction while other haul-out sites are used for other purposes like molting. However, both biotic and abiotic factors can influence the amount of time that Steller sea lions spend on land. Haul-out sites and haul-out abundance of the Steller sea lion can be determined by prey availability, predator abundance, tide levels, weather, etc.
Foraging
Steller sea lions are skilled and opportunistic marine predators, feeding on a wide range of fish and cephalopod species. Important diet components include walleye pollock,Keyes, M. C. (1968). "The nutrition of pinnipeds", pp. 359–395 in R. J. Harrison, R. C. Hubbard, R. S. Peterson, C. E. Rice, and R. J. Schusterman (eds.) The behavior and physiology of pinnipeds. Appleton, Century-Crofts, New York. Atka mackerel, halibut, herring, capelin, flatfish Pacific cod, rockfish, sculpins, Pacific salmon, sand lance, and cephalopods such as various squid and octopus, as well as bivalves and gastropods. They seem to prefer schooling fish and forage primarily between intertidal zones and continental shelves. They usually aggregate in groups of up to twelve in areas of prey abundance. They are known to aggregate near fishing vessels, preying on bycatch discards. Most of the data on their foraging comes from data collected off the coast of Alaska; little is known of their foraging behavior elsewhere.
The composition of the diet of Steller sea lions varies seasonally and geographically; as opportunistic predators, they concentrate on the locally most abundant prey species. In addition to their primary marine environment, they sometimes enter estuaries and feed on brackish-water fish such as sturgeon. Very occasionally, they have been known to prey on northern fur seals, ringed seals, harbor seals, and sea otter pups. Records suggest that the range of their prey species has broadened over time.
Predation Steller sea lions are top-tier carnivores, but are susceptible to predation, primarily by killer whales. Shark species are also possible predators: Pacific sleeper sharks, salmon sharks and great white sharks may prey on juvenile sea lions.
Behavior and life history
Reproduction
Reproductively mature male sea lions gather together mid-spring on traditional, well-defined reproductive rookeries, usually on beaches on isolated islands. The larger, older males establish and defend distinct territories on the rookery. A week or so later, adult females arrive, accompanied occasionally by sexually immature offspring, and form fluid aggregations throughout the rookery. Like all other otariids, Steller sea lions are polygynous. However, unlike some other species, they do not coerce individual females into harems, but control spatial territories among which females freely move. Steller sea lions have used aquatic, semiaquatic, and terrestrial territories. Males with semiaquatic territories have the most success in defending them. The boundaries are defined by natural features, such as rocks, faults, or ridges in rocks, and territories can remain stable for 60 days.Gentry, R. L. (1970). "Social Behavior of the Steller's Sea Lion". PhD Thesis, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA.Sandergen, F. E. (1970). 'Breeding and Maternal Behavior of the Steller's Sea Lion (Eumetopias jubatus) in Alaska', M. S. Thesis, University of Alaska, College. Though Steller sea lion males are generally tolerant of pups, one male filmed on Medny Island in Russia was documented killing and eating several pups in a first-ever recorded incident of cannibalism. Though researchers are uncertain as to the motives or reasons behind said attacks, it is suggested that the bull involved may have an abnormal personality akin to being psychotic.
Pregnant females give birth soon after arriving on a rookery, and copulation generally occurs one to two weeks after giving birth, but the fertilized egg does not become implanted in the uterus until the fall. A fertilized egg may remain in embryonic diapause for up to three months before implanting and beginning to divide. Twins are rare.Alaska Department of Fish and Game, "Life History". Adfg.alaska.gov. Retrieved on 17 December 2011. After a week or so of nursing without leaving the rookery, females begin to take progressively longer and more frequent foraging trips leaving their pups behind until at some point in late summer, when both the mother and pup leave the rookery together. This maternal attendance pattern is common in otariids. As pups get older the amount of time spent by females foraging out at sea increases. This continues until pups obtain the ideal body weight and energy reserves to eat on their own. A study conducted by the University of California, Santa Cruz found that on average male pups consume more milk than females. This may be due to the sexual dimorphism common to otariids. Reproductive males fast throughout the reproductive season,Riedman, M. (1990). The Pinnipeds: Seals, Sea lions, and Walruses. Los Angeles, University of California Press. p. 200 . often without entering the water once from mid-May until August, when the structure of the reproductive rookeries begins to fall apart and most animals leave for the open seas and disperse throughout their range.
The age at weaning is highly variable; pups may remain with their mothers for as long as four years. Incidents of mothers feeding daughters that are simultaneously feeding their own newborn pups have been documented, which is an extremely rare occurrence among mammals. A study done at Año Nuevo in 1983 found that female attendance and time spent with their pup was shaped by increasing nutritional demands of the pup and the pups suckling efficiency. Females averaged 21 hours ashore and 36 hours at sea. As the pups aged, females began to spend more time at sea again. As the pups matured, specifically at the sixth week past birth, the mother's sea time declined by 30 percent. There was no relationship between the pups' activity or physical excursion and their suckling time, age, or sex. Their suckling time, and age, and sex are unrelated to their use of energy. Labeled water studies showed that the pups' milk intake had a direct relationship to their size. Pups that consumed more milk were heavier than those that did not. These findings show that the amount of time females spend onshore with their pups is based on their pup's suckling efficiency and nutritional demands.
In the past, the low pup production has been tied to an increase in nutritional stress found in females. This was believed to have contributed to the decline in Steller sea lions common to Alaska.
Locomotion The largest of the eared seals, Steller sea lions are quick swimmers, about as fast as the smaller California sea lions. Glide velocity of individual Steller sea lions has been measured as 2.9–3.4 meters or 1.2–1.5 body lengths per second, which is close to the optimal swim velocity of 1.4 body lengths per second based on the minimum cost of transport for California sea lions.