Design and field testing of a system for remote monitoring of sea turtle nests

Protective barriers are often deployed to safely guide sea turtle hatchlings to the ocean but the barriers are contentious for they impede foot and vehicle traffic of beach users. Our goal is to develop a wireless system that can detect sea turtle hatching to enable "just in time deployment" of barriers, and notify tourists so they can watch sea turtles emerge from nests, generating awareness and compassion for these endangered species. We report on the development of a sensor and data acquisition system capable of detecting nest hatching activity in the harsh environment of a beach, including sensor selection, wireless networking, low-power design, data processing and environmental packaging. Field tests confirm the suitability of a low-cost low-power three-axis accelerometer and mobile networks for detecting and remotely communicating sea turtle hatching activity.