Abstract
We attached accelerometers to the head and jaw of a Steller sea lion (Eumetopias jubatus) to determine whether feeding attempts in a controlled setting could be quantified by acceleration features characteristic of head and jaw movements. Most of the 19 experimental feeding events that occurred during the 51 dives recorded resulted in specific acceleration patterns that were clearly distinguishable from swimming accelerations. The differential acceleration between the head-mounted and jaw-mounted accelerometers detected 84% of prey captures on the vertical axis and 89% on the horizontal axis. However, the jaw-mounted accelerometer alone proved to be equally effective at detecting prey capture attempts. Acceleration along the horizontal (surge)-axis appeared to be particularly efficient in detecting prey captures, and suggests that a single accelerometer placed under the jaw of a pinniped is a promising and easily implemented means of recording prey capture attempts.
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Acknowledgments
We gratefully thank Chad Nordstrom, Rebecca Barrick, and the trainers that helped us at the Vancouver Aquarium. This study was supported in part by grants to the North Pacific Universities Marine Mammal Research Consortium from the North Pacific Marine Science Foundation and the US National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration.
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Viviant, M., Trites, A.W., Rosen, D.A.S. et al. Prey capture attempts can be detected in Steller sea lions and other marine predators using accelerometers. Polar Biol 33, 713–719 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-009-0750-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-009-0750-y