Transmitters on seals
May 31, 2007 - 4:55pm
Janet, how are these transmitters attached to the seals? How long do they stay on? And what kind of information does this give us about the seal populations?That sure looked like a long way down from the Healy to the sea where they were lowering the boat- do you know how far down that was? 
Lollie
Hi Janet and Jackie,
There are two types of satellite transmitters, each with different
attachment methods. One is called a SPOT tag, it gives is location and the time of day an animal decides to go into or come out of the water. It is very small, about the size of a large pink eraser. The SPOT tag is attached to one of the rear flippers with a small post, just like piercing an ear. The other tag is called a SPLASH tag it is about the same size as a deck of cards. The SPLASH tag gives the same information as the SPOT tag and also transmits data on the seal's dive behavior. The SPLASH tag is attached to fur on the seal's back with glue. These seals molt (lose their hair) once each year around May and June. So the SPLASH tag will fall off when the animal molts.
The SPLASH and SPOT tags don't give us any information about the seal
populations but they do give us information about the seals behavior
(seasonal movements, diving and feeding behavior). This information IS
helpful for studying seal populations though in that it help us to better
plan where and when to conduct a seal survey. If we know that most of the seals are in a certain area at a certain time of day or year we can focus our surveys on that area at that time.
The ladder IS a long way down! There are 22 rungs in the ladder (I counted them myself), and it is about 22 feet to the water. That is about as high as a two story building!
Thanks for your questions!
Mike Cameron