Wildlife at the Watering Hole - July 2025 - Davey Dor

POV: You're a sea turtle that just hatched

Davey Dor

My presentation explores how emerging technologies are helping to uncover cryptic aspects of sea turtle hatchling behaviour. I’ll share findings from my PhD research combining tiny accelerometer backpacks, nest relocation experiments, and glow-in-the-dark tracking to investigate how conservation interventions such as nest relocation influence hatchling development, emergence behaviour, and ocean pathfinding.

Meet Davey: 

I had originally started out in studying video game design, but realised I was more passionate about animals, conservation, and working in nature. I can trace my obsession with turtles back to an undergrad course to Avoid Island, QLD, in 2017, where I saw sea turtles come ashore to lay their eggs for the first time. My research now takes place on Heron Island, where I study how conservation strategies such as nest relocation and shading affect hatchling development and performance.