During the cold, cold Canadian winters, around 300,000 to 400,000 grey stickers will be collected on Sable Island. This remote sandbar off the coast of Nova Scotia is a pinipedo. Rest, breed, and give birth to puppiesand interact with the wild horses of the island.
Sable Island Gray seal population It’s been rising sharply in recent decades Approximately 90% of puppies die in the first year. As increasing food competition can lie behind this high mortality rate, it is important to monitor this population to protect it. Researchers and their partner groups at Woods Hole Marine Facilities (WHOI) in Massachusetts have studied them over the past few winters. However, this year is the first time I’ve seen a close look at a puppy’s mind.
The team is running a small pilot program with six seal puppies holding heart monitors. These “Seal Fit Bits” can collect data on heart rate and EKG measurements. This tells scientists about the overall health of seals and how much energy they consume. The data further reveals how puppies prepare to go out into the ocean and develop their diving abilities. It’s time for seal puppies to stay with their mother, nurse for 15-20 days, then learn to swim and leave for their own.
“The grey seal has a large amount of oxygen-carrying protein that acts as a kind of internal scuba tank, allowing you to make long underwater dives,” said the WHOI marine biologist. Michelle Chero.
“Puppies must move from being nursed on land to suddenly weaning and making a living at sea. They use their oxygen reservoir slowly, and their heart rate on dives. You must hold it down for a long time and hold your breath.”
According to Shero, previous seal heart rate loggers needed human status within the seal range using receivers to obtain real-time data. However, as wearable technologies such as fitness monitors and personal EKGs become smaller, researchers are finding the benefits of using them to monitor animal health.
Shero and Whoi Engineers Ben Weiss Working together, we changed and equipped a small monitor with longer battery life and long memory.
“What makes this an exciting innovation is that it was able to adapt off-shelves components in a very creative application,” Weiss said.
Early trial monitors show the possibility of sending back EKG measurements, duration of heartbeat, and other important data. Researchers also use special cameras to shoot thermal videos of puppies while wearing heart rate monitors. This will help expand new ways of monitoring animal health more handoffs in real-world settings.
“The project represents a kind of advancement in marine science that comes from collaboration between scientists and engineers,” Weiss said.
“I hope to continue next year,” Shero added. The pilot program, which shows that these monitors worked very well, is very useful as they are looking for additional funding and support to expand from here to answer larger questions about animal and population health. I hope there is. ”
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