Editing California sea lion (section)

==Ecology==
===Range and habitat===
[[File:Santa-Barbara-Island-Sea-Lion-Rookery.jpg|thumb|left|California sea lion rookery on Santa Barbara island]]
The California sea lion ranges along the western coast and islands of [[North America]], from [[southeast Alaska]] to central [[Mexico]]. [[Mitochondrial DNA]] sequences in 2009 have identified five distinct California sea lion populations: the U.S. or Pacific Temperate stock, the Western [[Baja California Peninsula|Baja California]] or Pacific Tropical stock, and the Southern, Central, and Northern [[Gulf of California]] stocks.<ref name=populations>{{cite journal |last1=Schramm |first1=Yolanda |last2=Mesnick |first2=S. L. |last3=de la Rosa |first3=J. |last4=Palacios |first4=D. M. |last5=Lowry |first5=M. S. |last6=Aurioles-Gamboa |first6=D. |last7=Snell |first7=H. M. |last8=Escorza-Treviño |first8=S. |year=2009 |title=Phylogeography of California and Galápagos sea lions and population structure within the California sea lion |journal=Marine Biology |volume=156 |issue=7 |pages=1375–1387 |doi=10.1007/s00227-009-1178-1 |bibcode=2009MarBi.156.1375S |s2cid=86062338 |issn=0025-3162 |url=http://swfsc.noaa.gov/uploadedFiles/Divisions/PRD/Programs/Coastal_Marine_Mammal/Zc%20Gentics_Schramm%20et%20al.pdf}}</ref> The U.S. stock breeds mainly in the [[Channel Islands of California|Channel Islands]], although some breeding sites may be established in [[northern California]], and females are now commonly found there.<ref name="iucn status 11 November 2021" /> The Western Baja California stock mainly breeds near [[Punta Eugenia]] and at [[Isla Santa Margarita]]. The above-mentioned stocks are separated by the Ensenada Front. The stocks of the Gulf of California live in the shallow waters of the north (Northern stock), the [[tidal island]]s near the center (Central stock), and the mouth of the bay (Southern stock). The stock status of the California sea lions at the deep waters of the central bay has not been analyzed.<ref name=populations/>

Vagrants can reach the north-western Pacific such as on the [[Commander Islands]].<ref>Commander Islands Nature and Biosphere Reserve. [http://komandorsky.ru/zalophus-californianus-lesson.html California sea lion Zalophus californianus Lesson, 1828]. Retrieved on August 24, 2017</ref> Although several otariinae have been recorded around the Japanese archipelago in recent years, their exact origins are unclear.<ref>[http://svrsh1.kahaku.go.jp/marmam/?p=4354 鹿児島県薩摩川内市で種不明アシカ出現] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20160602094922/http://svrsh1.kahaku.go.jp/marmam/?p=4354 |date=2016-06-02 }}- 海棲哺乳類情報データベース</ref>

[[File:Zalophus californianus2.jpg|thumb|right|California sea lions in [[Santa Cruz, California|Santa Cruz]], California]]
During the breeding season, California sea lions gather on both sandy and rocky shores. On warm days, they lie closer to the water. At night or in cool weather, they travel farther inland or to higher elevations.<ref name=Audubon/> Non-breeding individuals may gather at [[marina]]s, [[Wharf|wharves]], or even navigational [[buoy]]s. California sea lions can also live in [[fresh water]] for periods of time, such as near [[Bonneville Dam]], nearly {{convert|150|mi|}} up the [[Columbia River]].<ref name=WDFW>{{cite web |title=Columbia River Sea Lion Management: Restoring balance between predators and salmon |publisher=Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife |url=http://wdfw.wa.gov/conservation/sealions/ |access-date=23 May 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171021212903/http://wdfw.wa.gov/conservation/sealions/ |archive-date=21 October 2017 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }}</ref> In 2004, a healthy California sea lion was found sitting on a road in [[Merced County]], California, almost a hundred miles upstream from the [[San Francisco Bay]] and half a mile from the [[San Joaquin River]].<ref name=Merced>{{cite news |last=Kay |first=Jane |title=When good fishing trips go bad: Sea lion swims the Delta – lands on Merced County farm road |newspaper=[[San Francisco Chronicle]] |date=10 February 2012 |url=http://www.sfgate.com/default/article/When-good-fishing-trips-go-bad-Sea-lion-swims-2798458.php |access-date=3 July 2012}}</ref>

===Diet and predation===
California sea lions feed on a wide variety of [[Marine life|seafood]], mainly [[squid]] and [[fish]], and sometimes [[clam]]s. Commonly eaten fish and squid species include [[salmon]], [[hake]], [[Pacific whiting]], [[anchovy]], [[herring]], [[Shortraker rockfish|rockfish]], [[lamprey]], [[Squaliformes|dogfish]], and [[Opalescent inshore squid|market squid]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Sea Lion Diet |publisher=Southwest Fisheries Science Center |url=http://swfsc.noaa.gov/textblock.aspx?Division=PRD&ParentMenuId=148&id=1252 |access-date=2 September 2007}}</ref> They mostly forage near mainland coastlines, the [[continental shelf]], and [[seamount]]s. They may also search along the ocean bottom.<ref name=Audubon/> California sea lions may eat alone or in small to large groups, depending on the amount of food available. They sometimes cooperate with other predators, such as [[dolphin]]s, [[porpoise]]s, and [[seabird]]s, when hunting large schools of fish.<ref>{{cite book |last=Riedman |first=M. |year=1991 |title=The Pinnipeds: Seals, Sea lions, and Walruses |url=https://archive.org/details/pinnipedssealsse0000ried |url-access=registration |publisher=[[University of California Press]] |page=[https://archive.org/details/pinnipedssealsse0000ried/page/168 168] |isbn=978-0520064980}}</ref> California sea lions sometimes follow dolphins and [[Kleptoparasitism|exploit their hunting efforts]].<ref name=Perrin/> Adult females feed between {{convert|10|–|100|km|mi|abbr=on}} from shore.<ref name=Lowry>{{cite journal |year=1999 |title=Market squid (''Loligo opalescens'') in the diet of California sea lions (''Zalophus californianus'') in southern California (1981–1995) |url=http://www.calcofi.ucsd.edu/newhome/publications/CalCOFI_Reports/v40/pdfs/Vol_40_Lowry___Carretta.pdf |journal=Reports of California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations |volume=40 |pages=196–207 |last1=Lowry |first1=M.S. |last2=Carretta |first2=J.V. |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130412155231/http://www.calcofi.ucsd.edu/newhome/publications/CalCOFI_Reports/v40/pdfs/Vol_40_Lowry___Carretta.pdf |archive-date=2013-04-12 }}</ref> Adult males may forage as far as {{convert|450|km|mi|abbr=on}} from shore when water temperatures rise.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Weise |first1=Michael J. |last2=Costa |first2=Daniel P. |last3=Kudela |first3=Raphael M. |year=2006 |title=Movement and diving behavior of male California sea lion (''Zalophus californianus'') during anomalous oceanographic conditions of 2005 compared to those of 2004 |journal=[[Geophysical Research Letters]] |volume=33 |issue=22 |pages=L22S10 |doi=10.1029/2006GL027113 |bibcode=2006GeoRL..3322S10W |doi-access=free }}</ref> They also have learned to feed on [[Rainbow trout|steelhead]] and salmon below [[fish ladder]]s at Bonneville Dam and at other locations where fish must queue in order to pass through dams and locks that block their passage.

California sea lions are preyed on by [[orca]]s and large [[shark]]s. At [[Monterey Bay]], California sea lions appear to be the more common food items for transient mammal-eating orcas pods.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Ternullo |first1=Richard |last2=Black |first2=Nancy |title=Predation Behavior of Transient Killer Whales in Monterey Bay, California |publisher=Monterey Bay Whale Watch |access-date=23 May 2012 |url=http://www.montereybaywhalewatch.com/Features/KillerWhalePredation0210.htm}}</ref> The California sea lions may respond to the dorsal fin of a killer whale and remain vigilant, even when encountering resident fish-eating pods.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Baird |first1=Robin W. |last2=Stacey |first2=Pam J. |year=1989 |title=Observations on the reactions of sea lions, ''Zalophus californianus'' and ''Eumetopias jubatus'', to killer whales, ''Orcinus orca''; evidence of "prey" having a "search image" for predators |journal=[[Canadian Field-Naturalist]] |volume=103 |issue=3 |pages=426–428 |doi=10.5962/p.356188 |url=http://www.cascadiaresearch.org/robin/sealionkwCFN.pdf |access-date=23 May 2012}}</ref> California sea lions are also common prey for [[great white shark]]s. They have been found with scars made by attacks from both great white sharks and [[shortfin mako shark]]s. Sharks attack California sea lions by ambushing them while they are resting at the surface.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Harris |first1=Jeffrey D. |last2=Melin |first2=Sharon R. |last3=DeLong |first3=Robert L. |title=Shark-inflicted Lesions on California Sea Lions (''Zalophus californianus'') at San Miguel Island, California: a New Phenomenon |publisher=National Marine Mammal Laboratory – Alaska Fisheries Science Center |access-date=23 May 2012 |url=ftp://ftp.afsc.noaa.gov/posters/pHarrisJ01_shark-inflicted-lesions.pdf |archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20120712153430/ftp://ftp.afsc.noaa.gov/posters/pHarrisJ01_shark-inflicted-lesions.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=12 July 2012 }}</ref> California sea lions that are attacked in the hindquarters are more likely to survive and make it to the shore.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Long |first1=Douglas J. |last2=Hanni |first2=Krista D. |last3=Pyle |first3=Peter |last4=Roletto |first4=Jan |last5=Jones |first5=Robert E. |last6=Bandar |first6=Raymond |year=1995 |contribution=White Shark Predation on Four Pinniped Species in Central California Waters: Geographic and Temporal Patterns Inferred from Wounded Carcasses |pages=263–274 |title=Great White Sharks: The Biology of Carcharodon carcharias |editor1-last=Klimley |editor1-first=A. Peter |editor2-last=Ainley |editor2-first=David G. |publisher=[[Academic Press]] |isbn=978-0124150317}}</ref>
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