Mapping the Ocean With Help From Sea Lions

You are probably familiar with google maps and other mapping programs. This helps you identify where to find what you are looking for and how to get there. But before the advent of modern technology, explorers mapped the world using surveying techniques, compasses, and telescopes, according to the Engineer Supply website. These methods were used for land navigation since ancient times.

But how do you map the oceans? Most scientists use boats and sophisticated sonar equipment. But researchers in Australia are now mapping the ocean floor with help from an unusual source, sea lions.

A unique approach
The Australian sea lion has seen a population decline of over sixty percent in the last four decades, reported NPR. Researchers from the University of Adelaide  who were looking for a way to identify and map the habitats of the critically endangered species came up with a very unique method.

They decided to include the animals that they were studying in the scientific process, by fitting sea lions with underwater cameras and tracking devices to learn about where they visited, fed, and lived. The equipment was attached to eight female sea lions that lived in the largest colonies in Australia, according to ExtremeTech.

The sea lions swam from two to ten days before they were recaptured and the trackers removed. The researchers found that the marine animals visited six seafloor habitats. Besides information specific to sea lions, the footage gave the researchers valuable information about the coastal topography in areas that were previously unmapped. The research was recently published in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science.

The advantages of using sea lions over conventional ocean mapping techniques
Conventional sea mapping uses advanced technology that is resource and time intensive, according to the research team. “Animal-borne video from Australian sea lions offers unique advantages. Video can be recorded across large areas of the benthos, [sea floor], in short timeframes, deployments can be conducted from shore with reduced personnel at a relatively low cost, and deployments are less subject to weather conditions,” the team concluded in the study.

One of these advantages is the fact that sea lions can dive up to 245 meters (804 feet) underwater and that is deeper than divers or drop cameras can reach, according to ExtremeTech. That’s why this method that seems so simple is actually cutting edge.

This study could be the start of a new marine imaging method. Camera carrying sea lions, sharks, and other marine species can assist in ocean mapping and help preserve fragile habitats around the globe.