24/7 Space News
WATER WORLD
Sea Lions Equipped with Cameras Help Uncover Uncharted Ocean Habitats
illustration only
Sea Lions Equipped with Cameras Help Uncover Uncharted Ocean Habitats
by Simon Mansfield
Sydney, Australia (SPX) Aug 14, 2024

The world's seabeds remain largely unexplored, with current knowledge being inconsistent. Utilizing remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROVs) to study seabeds can be costly, dependent on weather conditions, and challenging in deep, remote areas.

To address these obstacles, Australian researchers have turned to endangered Australian sea lions (Neophoca cinerea) to carry cameras. The videos recorded by these sea lion crews enabled the identification of previously unmapped benthic habitats on the continental shelf. The findings have been published in *Frontiers in Marine Science*.

"Using animal-borne video and movement data from a benthic predator is a really effective way of mapping diverse benthic habitats across large areas of the seabed," said first author Nathan Angelakis, a PhD student at The University of Adelaide and the South Australian Research and Development Institute (Aquatic Sciences). "These data are useful both for mapping critical habitats for an endangered species such as the Australian sea lion, and more broadly, for mapping unexplored areas of the seabed."

Tracking Sea Lions
The project, funded by The Australian Government and The Ecological Society of Australia, involved equipping eight adult female Australian sea lions from Olive Island and Seal Bay colonies with small, lightweight cameras. These cameras and tracking devices were attached to small neoprene patches, which were then glued to the sea lions' fur. The total weight of the equipment was less than 1% of the sea lions' body weight, ensuring no impact on their movement. Recordings were made over two to three days.

"We deployed the instruments on adult females so we could recover the equipment a few days later when they returned to land to nurse their pups," Angelakis explained. "We used satellite-linked GPS loggers on the sea lions, which meant we could track their position in real-time and knew when they had returned to the colony."

Predicting Ocean Habitats
From the animal-borne videos - totaling 89 hours of recordings - the researchers identified six benthic habitats: macroalgae reef, macroalgae meadow, bare sand, sponge/sand, invertebrate reefs, and invertebrate boulder.

The team then used machine learning models to predict large habitat areas across the continental shelf of southern Australia. This analysis also included oceanographic and environmental factors critical to the structure and distribution of these habitats, based on 21 years of observation and measurements.

"The sea lions from both locations covered quite broad areas around the colonies. In our calculations, we kept the area in which we predicted habitats small to maximize the precision of our predictions," Angelakis said. "This allowed us to model benthic habitats across more than 5,000 square km of the continental shelf."

As Seen by Sea Lions
The habitats captured by the sea lions were different from previously mapped regions in South Australia. This variation could be due to different oceanographic and environmental conditions, the sea lions' habitat preferences, or the possibility that certain habitats were not covered by the sea lions.

Despite these factors, the study provides valuable information about these seabeds and offers critical insights into an endangered species whose populations have decreased by over 60% in the past 40 years. Additionally, the data can be used to survey and assess other marine species observed in the videos.

The researchers highlighted that utilizing animal-borne video presents an efficient and cost-effective method for future seabed mapping projects. Studying marine areas from a predator's perspective rather than a human-centric viewpoint can enhance the understanding of benthic environments and contribute to more comprehensive seabed maps.

Research Report:Using sea lion-borne video to map diverse benthic habitats in southern Australia

Related Links
University of Adelaide
Water News - Science, Technology and Politics

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
WATER WORLD
Great Barrier Reef ocean temperatures hit 400-year record: study
Sydney (AFP) Aug 7, 2024
For the past decade, water temperatures along Australia's famed Great Barrier Reef have been the warmest in 400 years, a major study said on Thursday. Ocean temperatures around the spectacular coral system have increased yearly since 1960 but were particularly hotter during recent mass coral bleaching events, according to a study in the science journal Nature. The warmer waters are most likely down to human-induced climate change, the report said. Co-author Helen McGregor said she was "extre ... read more

WATER WORLD
SpaceX a week away from first private spacewalk

NASA Awards $1.25 Million to Teams Innovating Space Food Production

Neuraspace Enhances Space Traffic Management Through EISCAT Partnership

North Korea tour operators hopeful ahead of country's reopening

WATER WORLD
SpaceX sends 22 Starlink satellites into orbit using new first stage booster

Polaris Dawn Mission Set for August 26 to Advance Commercial Space Exploration

Rocket engine explodes during test at UK spaceport

Starship: Unpacking the Complexities of SpaceX's Two-Stage Vision

WATER WORLD
The means for mapping Martian meteorites

Western researchers help identify origins of Martian meteorites

Rocket Lab Prepares Twin Satellites for NASA Mars Mission Launch

An oasis in the desert on Mars

WATER WORLD
Shenzhou-18 Crew Tests Fire Alarms and Conducts Medical Procedures in Space

Astronauts on Tiangong Space Station Complete Fire Safety Drill

Shenzhou XVIII Crew Conducts Emergency Drill on Tiangong Space Station

Beijing Unveils 'Rocket Street' to Boost Commercial Space Sector

WATER WORLD
Apex Unveils GEO Aries Satellite Bus for Geostationary Missions

Lockheed Martin Set to Acquire Terran Orbital for $450 Million

NASA Hosts Symposium on the Macroeconomic Impacts of Space Investments

Non-Geostationary Constellations Set to Dominate High Throughput Satellites Market

WATER WORLD
ClearSpace and Plextek Strengthen Alliance for Enhanced In-Orbit Services

Cleveland-Made Automated Tech Embarks on Space Mission

New antenna design could pave the way for advanced 6G satellite networks

Scientists identify new electromagnetic wave impacting Earth's radiation belts

WATER WORLD
A Baby Planet Reveals Its Hiding Place

UK Space Agency Backs Missions to Study Stellar Influence on Habitable Worlds

Intense Stellar Flares from Red Dwarfs Pose Risks to Exoplanet Habitability

AI Competition Targets Exoplanet Atmospheres

WATER WORLD
Juice trajectory reset with historic Lunar-Earth flyby

Ariel's Carbon Dioxide Indicates Potential Subsurface Ocean on Uranus' Moon

Spacecraft to swing by Earth, Moon on path to Jupiter

A new insight into Jupiter's shrinking Great Red Spot

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.