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Habitat
Steller sea lions tend to live in the coastal waters of the subarctic because they prefer the cooler temperate climate of the area. Like all otariids, Steller sea lions are amphibious and spend some time in water and some on land. Typically, Stellar sea lions spend their time in the water feeding but haul-out onto land to reproduce, raise their pups, molt, and rest. Steller sea lions usually congregate on isolated islands because they are the ideal terrestrial habitat. These isolated islands are preferred by Stellar sea lions because they can avoid predation from terrestrial predators, easily thermoregulate (cooling winds), and access offshore prey more easily. Some haul-out sites, known as rookeries, are commonly used for reproduction while other haul-out sites, nonbreeding sites, are used for other purposes like molting. However, biotic and abiotic factors can influence the amount of time that Steller sea lions spend on land. Haul-out sites and haul-out abundance of the Steller sea lion is determined by prey availability, predator abundance, tide levels, weather, etc.

Biome
Because Steller sea lions often spend time both on land and in the ocean, the Steller sea lions’ biome encompasses both the terrestrial and marine biomes.