Scientists Are Using “Frankenturtles” To Protect Marine Wildlife In Chesapeake Bay

Researchers from the Virginia Institute of Marine Science are change the washed - up army corps ofloggerhead turtlesinto zombie bionic man – or “ Frankenturtles ” , as they ’re shout them – as part of their effort to protect their life counterparts .

Like something from a Mary Shelley novel , the scientists remove the internal organs of two dead turtleneck and make full them with Styrofoam in purchase order to make them float , thereby replicating the irrepressibility of a recently deceased polo-neck , full of flatulency from rot tissues .

By attaching a GPS tracking gadget to these rotting monstrosities and placing them back in the waters of Chesapeake Bay , the researchers desire to configure a “ polo-neck carcass impulsion model ” , revealing how winds and ocean currents bear upon the movement of dead turtles . This good example may then enable them to work backwards from polo-neck stranding internet site for pinpoint where the brute died – which should give them a clue as to what killed them .

prepare to present this body of work at theInternational Sea Turtle Society ’s 36th Annual Symposium on Sea Turtle Biology and Conservation , research worker Bianca Santosexplainedthat “ if our exemplar can accurately simulate how winds and current do on a dead sea turtle , we should be able to backtrack from a stranding site to the place where the turtle likely die . ”

“ By knowing the ‘ where ’ , ” she added , “ we can well look at the ‘ why ’ . ”

For instance , if it turn out that large numbers of turtles are dying in areas where the sportfishing industriousness has a gamey presence , then this may indicate that they are becoming trapped in nets , highlighting a need to change this equipment in ordering to make it safer for turtles .

Remarking on this improper yet potentially extremely useful work , carbon monoxide gas - researcher David Kaplan take on that “ it might seem sort of gross , but it ’s a good way to reprocess a numb polo-neck that would otherwise be swallow up . ” If successful , he say , “ the deployment of our two Frankenturtles will ultimately assist lower the bit of turtle deaths in the futurity . ”