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Effect of fasting on resting and diving metabolic rate in Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus)

The metabolic trade off between thermoregulation and fasting was assessed for foraging Steller sea lions. Pre‐dive resting (RMR) and diving (dive + surface) metabolic rates (DMR, 1 O2 · min−1) were measured for dives ranging between 20 to 50 m in 3 female Steller sea lions (mean initial body masses, Mb: 144.3, 167.4 and 219.9 kg) before and after a 9‐day fast. The sea lions lost an average of 9.8 % of their body mass (Mb) or 1.1 % per day. Dive duration and dive depth did not significantly affect DMR (p > 0.1). Average RMR and DMR before fasting ranged between 0.71 and 1.98 O2 • min−1 and was positively correlated with Mb (r2 = 0.97, p < 0.05). Both RMR (36.3 ± 5.22 %) and DMR (14.2 ± 12.3 %) decreased after fasting. The smaller decrease in DMR compared to RMR indicates that the cost of thermoregulation increased during diving compared to resting. RMR tended to increase in fasted sea lions within 1 hour of feeding, but was not observed in fed sea lions (p = 0.07). This suggests that digestion of food started while diving and had a greater energetic priority than dive performance in fasted animals.