I am looking for an effective non-mechanical method of locating turtle
eggs buried under the sand on a beach. One possibility I've been
thinking about is to use an industrial thermographic camera to scan
the sand surface for minute differences in surface temperature
profile. Presumably, the area of sand with eggs buried underneath will
have a different temperature profile, but I am not sure how to confirm
this one way or the other *quantitatively* (ie by calculations). I
need factual data to support the assumption that eggs buried 30-50cm
below the surface will produce a temperature profile on the surface of
the sand (in the tropics) that can be detected by a thermographic
camera or other equivalent means. I need to know for certain that it
will work before
going out to get one of these cameras. If this is possible, I will
need recommendations of the most suitable and affordable cameras for
this purpose. If this is not feasible, I will need any other proven
*non-mechanical* methods.

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Request for Question Clarification by pafalafa-ga on 04 May 2004 13:27 PDT

I would guess that hand-help ground penetrating radar would be your
best bet.  You can see some intro material on GPR here:

http://www.sss-mag.com/gpr.html

Let us know if you would like a researcher to explore this option for you.

pafalafa-ga

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Clarification of Question by pouncer-ga on 04 May 2004 21:37 PDT

Thanks for the suggestion. Let me explore the other comments by using
dogs first. That seems like a workable option.

This may sound facetious, but it's a serious suggestion: one of the
best nonmechanical methods of detecting things that are shallowly
buried is by the use of the canine nose. It would probably not be
difficult to train a dog to sniff out turtle eggs. The dog might even
enjoy this.

turtle eggs "nest" can easily be detected by looking for the traces
left in the sand by the mother turtle on her terrestrian trip (at
least for the luth turtle, the biggest one). That is how braconeers
locate them and that is what makes them so fragile

I agree with Pink on this one. A dog is a cheaper and probably a more
accurate alternative than any mechanical or electronic device
available.

To follow up on my suggestion of using a dog...

I'd think that finding turtle eggs would be a task very similar to
locating buried truffles, which is something that dogs do very well.

"In Italy, truffle dogs are trained in several steps. First, the dog
is taught to retrieve a rubber ball. Next, a small bit of smelly
Gorgonzola cheese is substituted for the rubber ball. After the dog
has learned to retrieve the cheese, the cheese is hidden, forcing the
dog to sniff it out for a reward of food. Finally, a small truffle is
substituted for the cheese. The dog is trained to fetch, then dig up
the truffle.

Dogs like other food better than truffles, so bread and other treats
are used for rewards. The night before a truffle hunt the dog is not
fed so it will be eager to find truffles for the treat."

http://herbarium.usu.edu/fungi/funfacts/truffind.htm

I doubt that you'd want the dog to dig up the turtle eggs, but a dog
could be trained to give a signal (such as sitting down or pointing
with a paw) when the scent of the eggs is detected.

Hi pinkfreud-ga,

Thanks for your comments. I am exploring the possibilitry of using
dogs. Problem is with logistics, cos it will be done in a different
country.