Poachers steal from turtle nests could find themselves with ballock on their face as decoy nut are being deployed to track down thieves . A recent discipline issue in the journalCurrent Biologylooked into the efficiency of using 3D - print , GPS - enabled “ turtle orchis ” to trick sea poker into leading authorities right to their door , assemble key evidence involve to expose the illegal trade of polo-neck products .
The aptly named InvestEggators are the brainchild of the preservation organizationPaso Pacificoby one of their scientists , Kim Williams - Guillen . The idea was conceived and project to tackle the illegal trade of endangered ocean turtles in Central America , where the eggs are a hotly sought - after delicacy sold to restaurants and bars across the region . astonishingly , her inspiration for the idea was the world ’s favored meth monger .
" In Breaking Bad , the DEA point a GPS chase after twist on a tank of chemical substance to see who receive the chemicals , " she said in astatement . " Turtle eggs essentially await like Ping River pong formal , and we want to know where they were go , put those two estimate together and you have the InvestEGGator . "
After nail down the design , Williams - Guillen and University of Kent fellow Helen Pheasey placed steerer in 101 turtle nests across four beach in Costa Rica . Of the nest armed with InvestEggators , a quartern were take on illicitly , giving the team a chance to put their tech to work .
One egg trace back to a residential holding before lose signal , while another travel to a bar 2 kilometers ( 1.2 statute mile ) from the nesting situation . The furthest length traveled saw one steerer end up 137 kilometers ( 85 miles ) inland . One InvestEGGator was rumble , and pictures of the dissect decoy were sent to the researchers from Cariari , a town 43 klick ( 26.7 miles ) from their point of origin . Most eggs were trade in the local area , which is highly worthful information as it can inform the best preservation practices to try and protect clutches .
" Knowing that a high balance of eggs remain in the local field help us target our preservation cause , " say Pheasey in astatement . " We can now focus our crusade on elevate awareness in the local community and direct law enforcement to this local issue . It also means we know where the consumer are , which wait on us in focusing demand reduction campaigns .
" Our research showed that placing a steerer into a turtle nest did not damage the brood embryos and that the decoys work . We showed that it was potential to get over lawlessly removed eggs from beach to end consumer as designate by our longest trail , which identified the entire trade chemical chain covering 137 kilometre . "
