What would you think if you saw a sea lion floating on one side with a flipper in the air? A sea lion in distress? That's what we thought. Well to be fair we didn't know what it was. I thought it looked too big to be a sea lion.
My girlfriend and I were walking yesterday and saw this floating sea lion. After lots of speculation, phone calls and conversations it turns out we were wrong. This sea lion wasn't in distress but doing some serious Thermoregulating. I hadn't ever heard of this before, have you?
I'll let NOAA explain what Thermoregulating is:
"Sea lions often regulate their own body temperature by lifting and exposing one or more flippers as they are floating on the surface of the water. The blood vessels just under the skin dilate and either absorb heat from, or release heat to, the environment. Absorbed heat is then circulated to the rest of the body."
My girlfriend later texted me that this is new behavior due to climate change. The warmer waters in the south is pushing marine life to come up north. Again, I'll let someone who knows more than me explain.
"Increasing emissions of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere from the burning of fossil fuels are causing changes in the ocean (see box). These changes can alter which species of marine life thrive best in certain areas. For example, many fish have shifted their typical range as water temperatures rise.2 However, other species are expected to decline in number or leave areas that are no longer favorable for them.3 These shifts can have significant impacts on marine ecosystems and on fishing communities." Read on (EPA)
It's important to look around. Notice things. Research. talk to others.
Be curious. Explore the world around you and beyond you. See what you discover. Perhaps if we are curious and care... we might just do some good.
I'll leave you with a little Mary Oliver wisdom:
"Something is wrong, I know it, if I don't keep my attention on eternity. May I stay forever in the stream. May I look down upon the windflower and the bull thistle and the coreopsis with the greatest of respect." Mary Oliver from her book Upstream pg 7
Everyday, be curious. Learn, explore, do something positive. (Actions for a healthy planet from the UN) To wet your curiosity .. more about sea lions For a deeper diver, check out the Oceans and Marine Resources- Chapter 9 from the 4th National Climate Assessment from the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP)
Denise
