Ecology, Physiology, and Conservation of Marine Animals
Weddell seal tracking at Cape Crozier
Our research group is interested in the adaptations of organisms to life in the marine environment, especially the movement, foraging ecology, and energetics of pinnipeds, cetaceans, and seabirds.
Latest News
- Assessment of the Cumulative Effects of Multiple Stressors on Marine Mammals– Elephant Seals as a Model SystemIn 2021 our lab began a collaborative project to investigate the cumulative effects of multiple stressors in northern elephant seals funding my the Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP). How an animal survives, grows, and reproduces within its environment is influenced by its response to intrinsic and extrinsic stressors. Intrinsic stressors can arise from…Continue Reading Assessment of the Cumulative Effects of Multiple Stressors on Marine Mammals– Elephant Seals as a Model System
- Caspian Seal ExpeditionIn winter of 2023, Dan and then PhD student Arina traveled to Kazakhstan, joined by Katie Prager, veterinary disease ecologist from UCLA, to spend 4 days on the Caspian Sea searching the ice for the endangered and endemic Caspian seals. Dan Costa, Arina Favilla, and Katie Prager (from left to right) standing in front of…Continue Reading Caspian Seal Expedition
- Why Bad Weather and Resights Don’t MixAs those who live in Santa Cruz can attest, the weather as of late has been pretty tricky. And by tricky weather, I mean sideways-raining, road-closing, tree-falling, flash-flooding weather. While these storms are excellent for cuddling up inside with a cup of hot cocoa and a good book, they are not very conducive to collecting…Continue Reading Why Bad Weather and Resights Don’t Mix
- California Sea Lion Tracking, 2023The Costa Lab, in partnership with the Block Lab at Stanford’s Hopkins Marine Station and the Garza Lab at the University of Washington, has begun studying how the distribution of white sharks relates to California sea lion distributions and behavior. In October, 2023 we outfitted 10 sea lions with biotelemetry instruments that transmit information on…Continue Reading California Sea Lion Tracking, 2023
- Cetacean Field Work Update, Summer 2023
This summer 2023, Costa Lab graduate students Haley Robb, Theresa Tatom-Naecker, and Florencia Vilches received UC Santa Cruz EEB Department summer funds to support their field research efforts. Read more about their adventures below! Sampling humpback whale blubber and hormones in Juneau, Alaska – Haley Robb This summer, I traveled to Juneau, Alaska, to collect…Continue Reading Cetacean Field Work Update, Summer 2023 - Citizen Scientists Find my Seal!
Back in August, we started the story of Toby and Xena (link), two juvenile elephant seals that are part of my graduate research investigating how marine mammals thermoregulate while diving. I don’t know if researchers are allowed to have favorites, but Toby definitely had me and my team feeling grateful for such a cooperative seal,…Continue Reading Citizen Scientists Find my Seal!