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Grad student, Elizabeth Goundie, works with sea lions at open water research station

My Master’s thesis research is on how changes in prey distribution and density affect the diving costs and foraging patterns of Steller sea lions.The energetic costs associated with diving and foraging make up a major part of a Steller sea lion’s energy budget. Accurate estimates of these costs are needed to understand how physiological constraints and energetic demands may affect foraging ability in the wild under different conditions, such as those imposed by changes in prey density and distribution.  This has implications for understanding the decline and recovery of Steller sea lions in Alaska.I am conducting...

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North Coast Brewing Company – releases Red Seal Ale!

We are excited that our newly designed Red Seal Ale sixpack carriers with QR codes have been released into distribution. You can use your smart phone to scan the QR code (or click here if you're already viewing this on your mobile device) to see photos of the magnificent Steller Sea Lions and read about the effort to protect this endangered population at the Open Water Research Center in Port Moody, BC. The QR site has a link to the center's website where you can see a video and photo album and find out the details of this important research project.Boni is wearing a harness that carries scientific instruments.We...

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For This Researcher it’s Less Einstein, More MacGyver

  November 25, 2012 He came for the hockey but stayed for the sea lions. Well, that’s part of the story anyway.Brandon Russell is a research technician at the Open Water Research Station, a site in Port Moody where important Steller sea lion research is being done. But his fascination with the ocean starts much earlier in his life. Picture a little Brandon running around in an area in Colorado that used to be an inland sea once upon a time. It was there where he found fossils and ancient shark teeth, dreaming as a kid of becoming a marine paleontologist one day. See full story from the Vancouver...

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Flipper Tappin’ Jazz was a two-night event sponsored by the North Coast Brewing Company.

June 10, 2012Flipper Tappin’ Jazz was a two-night event sponsored by the North Coast Brewing Company.  This fundraiser was held at The Cellar Jazz Club on West Broadway to raise awareness and money to help the UBC Steller sea lion research facility. On Saturday night, The Cory Weeds Quintet performed a tribute to Cannonball Adderly with the original Cannonball drummer, Roy McCurdy.  This was followed on Sunday night by the Claire Daly Quartet from New York performing the music of Thelonious Monk. The Claire Daly Quartet started their six night tour of British Columbia, Washington, Oregon and California in Vancouver,...

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Flipper Tappin’ Jazz Fundraiser photos!

June 2 & 3, 2012.Our  fundraiser to help save sea lions, with Cory Weeds Quintet and The Claire Daly Quartet presented by North Coast Brewery.See The Claire Daly Quartet on facebook and The Northcoast Brewing company on facebook!

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Captive-raised sea lions help research why the species in Alaskan free fall

Last in a six-part series: In western Alaska, including the Aleutian Islands and Gulf of Alaska, sea lions are listed as endangered Read more: See Vancouver Sun article

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Question from Jennifer: Have you ever had wild sea lions or other wild animals come visit the lab?

 We have had many encounters with wild visitors since establishing our research facility in 2003.  Our most regular visitors are the many resident harbor seals that pop up numerous times each day. Burrard Inlet is a thriving habitat for seals. It has salmon streams, and an abundance of shiner perch, sculpins, and other fish. The seals here also seem to feel safe from being attacked by transient orcas, which rarely visit this far inland. We have also had a half dozen California sea lions investigate our girls.  We nicknamed one male Calvin that hung around on the log boom near the sea lion holding pens for a month...

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Job placement week at the UBC Open Water Research Station

Job placement week at the UBC Open Water Research StationI am a student from Nunavut attending Lester B. Pearson United World College of the Pacific in Victoria, British Columbia. We are located on Pedder Bay and are the guardians of Race Rocks, a marine ecological reserve in the Strait of Juan de Fuca.  The abundance of marine life has given me the opportunity to learn more about the aquatic environments of the Pacific, as well as, encouraged me to investigate more. This curiosity led me to spend a job placement week at the UBC Open Water Research Station with Ariana Vaisey, a fellow Pearson student.  We spent...

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Science is not fast and easy, and doesn’t always go as planned

Science is not fast and easy, and doesn’t always go as planned On Monday Feb 27th, when I started my week at the Open Water Research Station, I was first struck by the vast knowledge apparent in the room. Above neatly shelved binders and supplies, were posters of sea lion distribution and research results. Scientists with ongoing research have scrawled task lists in coloured chalk on the blackboard of this old classroom, now converted into a floating hub of study in the Reed Point Marina. Beside the chalkboard, I noticed a taped up schedule for the week my friend and I were going to spend at the Open Water Research...

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QUESTION for researchers

 Question from Roxie in Alberta: "I am wondering whether the sea lions that are used for this research are harmed in any way?"

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