Technology

Behind the scenes at the Vancouver Aquarium lies a secret place where few visitors get to go. There, researchers use a variety of cool toys and gadgets to get insight into how sea lions spend their energy. This will help the researchers determine the amount and the quality of food sea lions in the wild will need to sustain their lifestyles.

Steller sea lions often have stones up to 12 cm in diameter in their stomachs! Scientists aren't sure if these rocks are swallowed by accident or on purpose.

A Steller sea lion in the swimmill at the Vancouver Aquarium

This big blue chamber lets researchers find out how much energy Steller sea lions need just to be a sea lion. Sea lions at the Aquarium are trained to go in and rest while researchers measure the oxygen levels going in and coming out. The information lets them figure out how much energy the sea lions use to simply breathe, have their heart beat, or grow fur. When the researchers first started, they had to use a vacuum cleaner pump to operate the chamber because no one else made a flow pump big enough!

The swimmill at the Vancouver Aquarium is the world’s only sea lion treadmill. When sea lions go into this small pool, two large turbines under the pool create a current for the sea lions to swim against. By changing the strength of the current and the temperature of the water, researchers can see how different conditions affect the energy of sea lions. It’s also a great way for the sea lions to exercise!

The auxiliary pool
A combination of the oxygen chamber and the swimmill, the auxiliary pool gives the sea lions a chance to move around while letting the researchers see how much oxygen the sea lions are using. The pool has some nifty features, including video cameras on the walls to show what the animals are doing and an airlock on the roof that lets researchers feed the Stellers. For these animals, sometimes fish really does fall from the sky!