Examining the metabolic cost of activity and calibrating accelerometer metrics for assessing those costs in the wild.

Similar to using a step counter for keeping track of our daily activity levels, recent advances in instrument and accelerometer technology have opened new doors for measuring energy expenditure in marine mammals. In addition to our work with the Mote Marine Laboratory and Georgia Aquarium, we are working with the Marine Mammal Physiology Project at UCSC to calibrate these accelerometers. Our goal is to use these instruments to measure the day to day energetic costs for different marine mammal species, while also gaining a clearer picture of the energetic impact of disturbance in the wild.