Australian researchers design poop-collecting swimsuits for turtles

In an effort to protect sea turtles better in Australia, researchers from the University of Queensland, or UQ, have come up with a customised swimsuit that can collect the feces of the endangered animals.

The team is studying the feces to find out where the sea turtles are feeding, which can lead to more effective ways in protecting the species from other marine animals and predators. Acting as a harness for "a giant nappy," the swimsuits were designed by Owen Coffee, a PhD student at UQ’s School of Biological Sciences, with the help of UQ researcher Carmen da Silva.

Recently, the team captured six loggerhead sea turtles and kept them in seawater tanks at UQ’s Moreton Bay Research Station until they defecated. Coffee said it was difficult to collect the entire fecal sample once it was dispersed into the water, making scientific investigations challenging. The group also developed a flexible funnel anchored to the shell that can fit over the turtle’s tail. However, because of the turtles' large size, the 120-kilogram species easily flicked off the funnels.

While the researchers were brainstorming for their next steps, the station’s education coordinator, Dr Kathy Townsend, told them about a soft, flexible harness that was previously developed for a study of sea turtle hatchlings.

Inspired by this, Coffee bought second-hand sunshirts from a local charity shop, removed the sleeves and had the bottom sewn together in two places, leaving space for the turtle’s tail and the detachable fecal collector.

“After a few modifications, including Velcro-attachments for the ‘nappy,’ we hoped we had the perfect solution to our unusual problem. To our great surprise, it worked perfectly,” Dr Townsend said. The suits, according to the researchers, were easy to put on, comfortable for the sea turtles to wear, looked great and were able to collect the entire fecal sample of the sea turtles.

After the samples were collected, the researchers removed the swimsuits and returned the sea turtles to Moreton Bay. The important scientific samples will be used to help further protect the species.

Sea turtles are ancient sea creatures that are among the most endangered animals on the planet. They can live for more than 50 years and rely on safe, clean beaches for successful breeding. Living in northern Australia waters, the animals need protection from predators, marine debris and other harmful elements.

In the water, sea turtles are attacked by sharks and killer whales, which can bite through the endangered species' protective shells. Meanwhile, it is estimated that approximately 150,000 of sea turtles die annually due to boating accidents or getting caught up in fishing nets. Water pollution also kills off a large number of sea turtles, due to diseases they acquire and because of eating waste that they mistake for food.

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