The Phase 2 nest testing process consists of approximately two hundred artificial nests having been installed in two wild colonies, at Bird Island and Dyer Island.  Each of two designs had approximately one hundred nests put into place to test the effectiveness.  Of these roughly two hundred nests 35% have Monnit or Kestrel environmental sensors in place to monitor temperature, humidity, and heat stress index inside the nest.  These sensors include sixty Monnit devices and twelve Kestrel Drop D2 devices.  There are also seven naturally occuring guano nests and an exposed nest being monitored on Bird Island for performance comparison of the artificial nests.  

With approximately 50% of the Phase 2 environmental testing process time frame complete and data beginning to accumulate for both environmental and the biological monitoring process the preliminary information has been promising.  Only the full analyzed results at the end of this stage of the testing process will confirm whether one or both of the two nest designs will meet the performance requirements established for the husbandry needs of the penguin reproduction.  

Environmental sensors will ultimately accumulate approximately 320,000 data points through the entire portion of the testing process including the results from the Monnit sensors in artificial nests, the Kestrel Drop D2 sensors in artificial nests, Kestrel Drop D2 and Monnit sensors in natural guano burrows, and the single Kestrel Drop D2 sensor placed at an exposed nest. Additional data in the form of temperature, heat stress index, humidity, barometric pressure, wind speed/direction, and rainfall accumulation is being logged by weather stations installed by the project team on both Bird Island and Dyer Island.  Early data cannot be used to accurately predict the final analysis of the two nest designs, however midterm data shows the artificial nests are tracking consistent with the natural guano burrows and are maintaining within the desired parameters established to provide a stable internal environment for reproduction.  

The remote wireless monitoring system designed and installed specifically for the nest monitoring project using gateways, routers, and the sensors purchased through Monnit has been fairly consistent, but a couple of challenges emerged and needed to be addressed during the data collection period.  Initially on Dyer Island there was an incident of power loss from the solar panels through the power station.  This was tracked to human error on the island and not an issue with the technology. Modifications to the power system were made to prevent a reoccurrence of the issue.  Early in the data collection process the system at Bird Island started losing contact intermittently with the sensors in the nests and the weather station.  Although initial diagnostics during the installation showed the connection to be strong enough for the location it was later deemed necessary to add an extender and repeater onto the router to increase signal strength for the receiver.  

​Humidity in the natural guano burrows has been slightly more stable and running slightly higher on average during the first portion of the data collection period, however the variance has not been significant enough between the natural burrows and the artificial nest designs to be a concern for the potential health of either eggs or chicks. Minor design alterations in the artificial nest flysheet fabrication will be investigated prior to the manufacturing process for the full implementation stage to evaluate whether a small change planned will stabilize the humidity slightly along with increasing the structural integrity of the flysheet further.

The initial target set early on in the design process was to build prototypes that would vent excess thermal buildup when external temperatures rise and to have those nest designs maintain an internal temperature not exceeding 35°C.  Above this temperature it has been observed that adult penguins begin to exhibit signs of heat stress, which increases the likelihood of nest abandonment. Temperatures above 40°C greatly increase the risk of egg and chick death due to heat stress.  New prototype testing in Phase 1 alongside the previously attempted nest designs (those prior to the onset of this nesting project) showed that each of those older original designs routinely exceeded 40°C and some designs reached as high as 53°C on the higher temperature days.  

In the early stages of the colony testing process the interior temperatures of the artificial nests are tracking very consistently with the observed environmental conditions that are being recorded in the seven natural guano burrows.  At the hottest portion of the day the artificial nests are currently reaching temperatures slightly higher (averaging no more than 0.75°C higher per temperature peak) than the guano burrows but are still maintaining well below the upper limit of desired temperatures established for successful reproduction.  We believe that a minor modification to the design of the flysheet for the artificial nest will provide a more stable temperature gradient at the higher ambient temperatures than the current design and this is being tested in parallel to the colony testing to confirm that the effect works as it is suspected.

​Biological monitoring of the penguin reproduction during the breeding season isn’t a new process, however standards between the wild colonies had to be established to ensure that data collection was consistent amongst the locations.  To ensure this consistent data collection the use of an app with specific questions for the nest monitors to follow was developed using an already established product of Imperial College London (https://five.epicollect.net).  The form is designed and built on the Epicollect5 website which then creates an accessible project in the mobile app.  Data can also be entered directly from the website if necessary. For analysis of the collected data the software exports the fields directly to Microsoft Excel.  A separate test site has been established as a clone of the live data collection site to allow testing and practice entries.  

Historical studies of the previously provided nest designs have shown average occupancy to range between 7-11% depending on design, location, and colony.  Rates of reproductive success (chicks fledging) varied from 5-7% in those older nest designs.  At the end of the current breeding season the entire dataset will be analyzed to determine the occupancy rates and reproductive success of penguins utilizing the new design artificial nest burrows.  

An unexpected challenge that has made the nest monitoring process a bit more difficult than expected during this early part of the data collection is in the appearance of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI strain H5N8) in several coastal areas of South Africa.  The primary species being affected in sizable numbers at this time are several types of terns, cormorants, gulls, and gannets.  A much smaller number of penguins have been confirmed as HPAI fatalities from several colonies.  This has restricted access to the colonies and monitoring of the nests in some locations on both Bird Island and Dyer Island due to their proximity to either tern, cormorant, or gannet breeding areas and the risk of cross-contamination. This has also restricted the ability of the colony rangers and monitors to come in contact with the penguins except when absolutely necessary.  This includes a restriction on the practice of slightly lifting the incubating birds with a stick to count eggs or chicks as has previously been done to record nest contents.  

While Phase 2 testing is occurring in the two colonies the members of the African Penguin Artificial Nest Development Team are beginning preparations for the large-scale production needs that will quickly follow the conclusion of the current testing with a goal of completing the majority of nests by fall 2018.  In order to scale up the manufacturing process from the production of more than 200 nests needed in Phase 2 testing to the more than 4,000 nests that will initially be produced.  In full implementation a large amount of fabrication molds, tools, equipment, and supplies need to be acquired even before the raw materials are purchased.  The purchases being made at this time are items that will be needed regardless of the final form of the nest or nests that move into full manufacturing.  

Production locations are being investigated for both the Western Cape and Eastern Cape to reduce transportation costs.  Although the nests are designed to be stacked for space efficiency during transportation they still each weigh approximately 17kg and take up almost a square meter of floor space with a maximum stacking capability of five units reaching 1.5 meters in height.  

In addition to these preparations the nest development team is also running a series of additional stress, materials, and exposure tests on the supplies and raw materials that have been used in the production of the current nest designs for further verification of the environmental friendliness of the product and the long-term durability expectation.  This will ensure that the final product will be sufficient enough to have an extended lifespan in the rough climates found in the penguin colonies.  

These nests are anticipated to last between 12 and 15 years each based on the materials being used.  The nests are able to be recycled when the end of their lifespan is reached.  A donation to the project can provide homes for birds of several generations.  A single artificial nest has the potential to be used in as many as 30 nesting events during its anticipated lifespan.  That’s a significant return on investment for a relatively small donation.