Data by Design: Engineering Solutions for Sea Lion Research Lisa Mulcahy, MarEPOsa Dr. William Hanshumaker, OSU Dr. Markus Horning, OSU a marine science and engineering curriculum for 5 th – 12 th grades

Seguam Island, Aleutian Islands, AK July 1970 Steller sea lions

? ? ? ? ?? ? Steller sea lion The largest of the ‘eared seals’ – otariids Males: - 2,500 lbs defend territories June - August Females: up to lbs Seguam Island, Aleutian Islands, AK July 2007

, Steller sea lion population 1970’s to 2007 Steller sea lions counts in Western Alaska 1970’s: > 170, : 45,000  endangered Source: NMFS Endangered Species Act listing & unexplained decline has led to severe restrictions on largest commercial fishery in US (Alaskan groundfish)

Scientists at OSU are using telemetry to learn how Steller sea lions are dying. Telemetry is the science and technology of measuring things remotely that allows information to be obtained by a wire, radio, satellite, data recorder or other device such as a tag.

Satellite Telemetry in Steller Sea Lions

Curriculum: Marine Science & Engineering

How can this curriculum & website address your needs? Website: visual learners, reading material & teacher background Curriculum: Common Core Standards: Literacy in Science and Technical Subjects Mathematics Ocean Literacy Principles National Science Standards Oregon Science Engineering Standards

Lessons 5 th – 8 th Buoyancy Temperature Populations 9 th – 12 th Engineering Tradeoffs Thermal Transfer Electromagnetic shielding

Electromagnetic Shielding NATIONAL SCIENCE EDUCATION STANDARDS Content Standard A: Science as Inquiry Content Standard B: Physical Science Content Standard E: Science and Technology OCEAN LITERACY PRINCIPLES The Earth supports a great diversity of life and ecosystems. The ocean is largely unexplored.

Electromagnetic Shielding 9 th -12 th Test the principles of electromagnetic shielding using a cell phone. external electrical field causes the charges to rearrange, which cancels the field inside Faraday’s Cage

Picture of Faraday’s Cage Setup

Learning Procedure 1. Introduce electromagnetic radiation, how cell phones work, and Faraday’s cage. 2. Ask if radio waves can travel through tissue. Ask students how they would test this. 3. Ask students to predict what will happen to the signal strength (number of bars) of a transmitter in air, in a Faraday’s cage, and under saltwater. 4. Challenge students to think about how they would design a room that would prevent cell phone signals.

Buoyancy NATIONAL SCIENCE EDUCATION STANDARDS Content Standard B: Physical Science Content Standard E: Science and Technology Content Standard F: Science in Personal and Social Perspectives Content Standard G: History and Nature of Science OCEAN LITERACY PRINCIPLES Principle 5 & 7 ENGINEERING IN THE OREGON SCIENCE STNDS. Included with your materials

How many batteries? 5 th -8 th Apply the principles of buoyancy to design their own “transmitter”. is a force exerted by a fluid, that opposes an object's weight Buoyancy :

Picture of Buoyancy Setup

Learning Procedure Students use the formula for the volume of a cylinder to calculate the water displacement due to buoyancy. Students use the water displacement weight to calculate the number of batteries (pennies) to put in the “tag” for a given amount of floatation. Teachers and students engage in a discussion of tradeoffs.

Activity Adjusts to Grade Level 5 th –experiment with how flotation changes with # of batteries 6 th – As above, with a discussion introducing tradeoffs 7 th – Calculate how many batteries for a specific flotation based on volume, introduce tradeoffs 8 th – Calculate how many batteries for a specific flotation based on volume; Discuss tradeoff between battery & floatation 9 th -12 th – Calculate optimal battery size based on # of transmissions/battery and # of transmissions satellite receives, which decreases with floatation

Formulas/Information Volume of cylinder (V) = Pi r 2 x height Mass, m = pV p = density of water 1g/cm 3 Weight of tube = 22.1g Weight of battery2.5g

Jo-Ann Mellish (Alaska Sea Life Center), Roger Hill (Wildlife Computers) Photo credits: Alaska Dept. Fish & Game, Jason Waite Funding through: North Pacific Marine Research Program The National Science Foundation NMFS Permits # , Acknowledgements, Permits

Thank You! For more information contact Lisa Mulcahy at Visit our table during the break!

Extra Information for Questions

Pinnipeds: Seals true seals Sea lions, fur seals eared seals Walrus 35+ species globally Galápagos fur seal (40 – 140 lbs) Southern elephant seal (800 – 8,000 lbs) Shore-, ice-based breeding resident / migrating Diet: fish, shellfish, squid, birds Steller sea lion - Prince William Sound, AK

Fin-footed facts: Dives to 1,700 m depth Northern elephant seals Dives of 1 ½ hours Weddell seals Bi-annual migrations Northern elephant seals swim 20 – 40,000 km / yr Highly variable suckling period (lactation) 1-3 years - Galápagos fur seal % milk fat 4-8 days - Harp seal up to 60% milk fat Weddell seal sleeping in ice hole Ross Sea, Antarctica

Pinnipeds in Oregon: Harbor seals Northern elephant seals Steller sea lions California sea lions males outside of breeding season Very rare visitors: Northern fur seals Guadalupe fur seals

, Eastern Steller sea lions counts including Oregon, CA, WA, BC, SE-AK 1970: 20, : 46,000  threatened Steller sea lion population 1970’s to 2007 Steller sea lions counts in Western Alaska 1970’s: > 170, : 45,000  endangered Source: NMFS

Mortality Using temperature and light we can infer how the animal died. Non-traumatic death (e.g. disease, starvation) What LHX tags tell us

Predation Traumatic death - predation What LHX tags tell us Dramatic rapid cooling infers that the tag has been released

From earlier research: 70% of weaned animals die before the age of 5 Results since 2005: 36 young sea lions released with LHX tags in Prince William Sound 11 animals died How did they die? What have we learned?

Conclusion since 2005: At least 10 of 11 died by predation Transient killer whales are likely responsible for the majority of deaths in young Steller sea lions What have we learned?

Mortality Productivity Temperature can be used to detect births. Temperature and Dive Pattern in A Sea Otter

Mortality Productivity The Life History Transmitter LHX2 Tag Half the size of the old LHX1 tag Can detect births using the animal’s body temperature