The Murraylands and Riverland Landscape Board is gathering information on where freshwater turtles are nesting along the River Murray, to determine the best conservation methods to undertake to boost their numbers.

The River Murray is home to three species of native freshwater turtles – the Murray River short-necked turtle, the long-necked turtle and the broad-shelled turtle.

The Board's Senior Project Officer Citizen Science, Sylvia Clarke, said research had shown the River Murray's native turtle population had declined to a tiny fraction of its original size.

“This is particularly alarming when you consider the vital role turtles play as the vacuum cleaners of the river as they feed largely on carrion (dead animals), which helps to regulate water quality," Dr Clarke said.

Freshwater turtles lay their eggs during October, November and December in buried nests on the riverbank, where they remain until they hatch two to three months later, unless interfered with by predators or other factors.

Foxes are the biggest threat to the eggs and often leave a trace of shattered eggshells behind. Although unfortunate, the shattered eggshells make nesting hotspots easier to identify.

To help gather as much data as possible of potential nesting locations, community survey events (like the one pictured left) have been set up by The Murraylands and Riverland Landscape Board, as part of the 1 Million Turtles Community Conservation Program.

The public is invited to register for the events, and then upload sightings of scattered eggshells they find onto a dedicated turtle conservation app.

The information gathered on the TurtleSAT app helps ecologists and property managers to guide future decisions to protect and enhance turtle populations through targeted activities such as fox control.

The first of the three survey events was held on Wednesday 6 December, with a number of nests found at Gurra Gurra wetland, located near Berri, suggesting this is an important nesting hotspot being targeted by foxes.

Karen Richardson (pictured right with Penny Moon), took part in the first survey, looking for nests at Ramco Lagoon near Waikerie, and appreciated the knowledge she had gained about freshwater turtles, in particular their nesting habits.

“We didn’t find any turtles or nests at Ramco Lagoon, but we think we may have found some turtle shell fragments," she said.

"I’ll continue to record sightings on the app during my walks."

The next two turtle nest surveys will be held at Lake Bonney, Barmera, on 17 January and Pike Floodplain, near Renmark, on 4 February.

Attendance is free, but registrations are essential at Landscape South Australia Murraylands and Riverland.

The public is also encouraged to share any sightings of freshwater turtles or their nests from across South Australia at any time, through TurtleSAT.