Seals
Hungry seals ’steer by the stars’
Seals can identify a single star in the night sky and navigate by it, scientists have discovered. Navigating in the open ocean is essential for seals to move between foraging grounds that may be hundreds of kilometres apart.
This is the first evidence that marine mammals, like humans, use stars to navigate in open water, [...]
Southern seals sample salty seas
Elephant seals are helping scientists study temperature and salinity changes in the Southern Ocean.
Equipped with computerised tags, the seals can reach regions of the sea impenetrable to researchers during the harsh winter months.
The data, collected during the animals’ long dives under Antarctic ice, provide the best ever estimates for the rate of sea-ice formation.
The findings [...]
© 2009 Jennifer Carpenter. 
