The technology of Internet of Things for the benefit of marine turtles : pIOT & IOT

Context
  • Biological issues

The western Indian Ocean is one of the world's main breeding and spawning grounds for two marine turtle species, the green turtle (Chelonia mydas) and the hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata), currently endangered and listed on the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Red List.

Scientific knowledge on young stages is lacking and is essential for the development of effective conservation measures. To fill these gaps, the National Action Plan for Marine Turtles of the Southwest Indian Ocean sets as a research priority the identification of functional habitats for young individuals.

  • Technological issues

So far, one way to identify the movements of marine turtles has been through the use of tags attached to their shells, with data transmission by satellite. However, this tag system is expensive and cumbersome, limiting their deployment and the amount of data.

General objectives of the projects pIOT / IOT

The aim of the pIOT/IOT projects is to develop a new generation of tracking tags : low cost, low consumption, autonomous in energy, and finer in precision.
The development of these innovative tags is made possible by the use of the LoRa data transmission system, commonly used for the Internet of Things. The information collected by the tag is transmitted to a network of receiving stations. The positions will be overlaid on habitat maps, defined from aerial and satellite remote sensing images.

Partners

 

pIOT (2018-2020)

The pIOT project, which began at the end of 2018, made it possible to initiate a network of 5 tags and 5 receiving stations on Europa island to test the technology developed in a constraining natural environment. A first prototype was developed and tested as part of the deployment of a network to observe the movements and migrations of marine turtles.

IOT (2018-2021)

Following the actions and results obtained thanks to the pIOT pilot project, the IOT project will consist of deploying 10 tags and 5 receiving stations, in each of the different study sites across the southwestern Indian Ocean basin (Reunion Island, Mayotte, Scattered Islands, Seychelles), between 2018 and 2021.