Robonerite: A low-cost biomimetic temperature logger to monitor operative temperatures of a common gastropod (Nerita spp.) in tropical urban seascapes

Temperature is a major stressor in the intertidal environment. During emersion, the interaction between physicochemical factors and the external morphology of intertidal organisms results in significant differences between organismal body temperatures and ambient temperatures. Standard temperature loggers do not consider the morphology of the target species and may not serve as effective proxies for body temperatures. Methods such as thermocouples also present their own set of issues, being invasive and potentially damaging. Biomimetic temperature loggers that mimic the organisms of interest are, however, easily deployed in the field and can be used to investigate biological impacts of field temperatures. Due to their high abundance on tropical seawalls and the key ecological roles they play, nerite gastropods (Nerita spp.) were selected as the model organism for the basis of biomimetic “Robonerites”. Here, we discuss the development of Robonerites and present results from field and laboratory tests on their effectiveness and accuracy in measuring the in situ body temperatures of nerites on tropical seawalls. Keywords: Body temperature, Biomimetic sensors, Temperature logger, Intertidal habitats, Nerite snails