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2018 Autumn | Natural Science & Restoration

Love Isn’t Always on Time: Observing the Timing of Peak Pupping Periods for Stellar Sea Lions Utilizing Pyramid Rock

Student(s):

Alisha Bruner

Program or Department(s):

  • Program on the Environment
  • University of Washington

Site supervisor(s):

Jeff Harris

Partner(s):

  • NOAA

  • National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

  • NOAA National Marine Mammal Laboratory

Faculty advisor(s):

Laura Prugh, School of Environment and Forest Sciences. University of Washington

I completed my internship for NOAA’s National Marine Mammal Laboratory at the California Current Ecosystem Program. My task was to determine for the program what the peak pupping periods were for Steller sea lions that utilize Pyramid Rock, Oregon, during their breeding season in the years 2015 and 2017. This work was completed by computer through NOAA’s pre-existing database of researched animals; my goals included deriving the peak period of pup births and formatting the data on individuals in a way that would be useful for continued research.