Mote Marine Laboratory and the National Marine Fisheries Service ar relying on an underwater robot in Collier County as it looks for environmental conditions that might relate to a recent fish kill there.

The robot, nicknamed “Nemo,” is an autonomous underwater vehicle that can detect multiple species of algae and levels of dissolved oxygen.

Launched last Thursday, it will patrol for about a week along a pre-programmed course six to 20 miles offshore. It will continuously sample the water and send data to Mote scientists at the lab every two hours via satellite transmitter.