Inland turtles are dying off at an alarming rate across Australia with foxes and other predators eating their eggs before they get a chance to hatch.
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About 40 per cent of Australia's 24 freshwater species are at a heightened risk of extinction during the nesting season from November as females emerge from wetlands, rivers and creeks to lay their eggs.
University of New England conservationist Dr Deborah Bower is among a team of researchers and scientists nationwide urging people to stay on the lookout for turtles and their nests.
They have developed an app called TurtleSat where details, photos and recordings of turtle sightings or possible causes of death can be entered to help experts gain a better overall snapshot of their numbers in the wild.
Dr Bower is also asking people to "keep their eyes peeled" for turtles inching their way across regional roads this nesting season which lasts until about March.
"If you see a turtle, please move it off the road, move it in the direction that it's going, don't try and find water for it, but just move it along. And it will keep going on its way," Dr Bower said.
Along with fox threats and being hit while crossing the road, the humble freshwater turtle's existence is also threatened by disease.
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The conservationist does not recommend people keeping them as pets partly because owners have been letting them go in the wild, which has contributed to the spread of pathogens.
"Putting them into new habitats is just another recipe for disaster," Dr Bower said.
Across the New England region, the Eastern Long Neck and the Bells turtles are endemic, with the mothers emerging from the water to lay their eggs in burrows on the bank.
In the northern areas of Australia, the greatest threat to turtles are wild pigs whereas foxes in NSW, Victoria and South Australia present the biggest challenge.
Dr Bower said inland turtles are called the "garbage collectors of the freshwater systems because they will eat things as they die".
"So when there are fish kills or just things dying, naturally, turtles will come along and eat them.
"And that helps clean up the water and helps to reduce the decaying matter. And then that has influences on improving water quality."
For those wanting to become qualified turtle savers, researchers and scientists have developed the 1 MillionTurtles website where people can learn how to find and protect turtle nests using mesh.
