Themes > Science > Earth Sciences > Oceanography > Ocean Life > California Sea Lion > Current Research


The only lab in the world dedicated to the study of the sensory systems and learning abilities of pinnipeds is located at Long Marine Laboratory, in Santa Cruz, California. Dr. Ronald Schusterman and his crew of students and researchers are investigating the comparative abilities of three pinniped species, including the California sea lion. Research efforts with the lab’s two trained sea lions, Rocky and Rio, include assessment of their visual and auditory abilities. These behavioral tests are conducted in air as well as under water to determine how the senses of sea lions have evolved to cope with an amphibious lifestyle. For example, these studies support the idea that sea lions rely on vision to find food, and on hearing to avoid predators at sea and to communicate with one another on land.


Photo of sea lion choosing a letter among three on a wall
Rio, a trained Navy sea lion, performs a cognition experiment (Photo Credit: Schusterman; Long Marine Laboratory, UCSC).

One of the main goals of the research is to understand how underwater noise produced by humans (from sources such as shipping, oil drilling, oceanographic experiments, and military operations) might affect the hearing and behavior of wild California sea lions. The researchers approach this problem by asking the sea lions to detect sounds either following or during exposure to moderate levels of noise; this information is then used to estimate how different sounds might interfere with the sea lions’ ability to hear. Other experiments are designed to investigate how trained California sea lions use information gathered from their senses to solve problems related to learning and memory. All of these laboratory studies aid in understanding the natural behavior of wild sea lions. Ongoing field observations explore how sea lions use sensory cues to recognize individuals and to classify them into such categories as "potential mates," "territorial neighbors,"or "invading strangers."

Photo of a sea wearing headphones
Wearing headphones, Rocky is taking a hearing test (Photo Credit: Schusterman; Long Marine Laboratory, USCS).


Information provided by: http://www.onr.navy.mil