Table 2.

List of environmental variables and hypothesized influence on adult female sea lion habitat selection

Variable	Hypothesized mechanistic link
Sea Surface Temperature (SST)	Description of thermal regime
Sea Surface Temperature Standard Deviation (SST SD)	Mesoscale thermal structure
Chlorophyll‐a (Chl‐a)	Proxy for primary productivity
Eddy kinetic energy (EKE)	Index of mesoscale convergence and divergence, prey retention
Mean sea‐level anomaly (SLA)	Index of mesoscale features
Mean sea‐level anomaly Standard Deviation (SLA SD)	Index of mesoscale variability
Wind (v‐component)	Upwelling‐favorable winds
Bathymetry	Depth to seafloor
Bathymetry Standard Deviation (Bathymetry SD)	Roughness of seafloor
Distance from colony	Index of movement from rookery