TurtleSAT

Brief description

TurtleSAT - Turtle Survey and Analysis Tools - is an mobile app and citizen science mapping tool produced by the 1 Million Turtles Community Conservation program, allowing communities to map the location of freshwater turtles in waterways and wetlands across the country. Australia's freshwater turtles are under serious threat, and they need our help for survival! Mounting evidence now suggests that many turtle species are declining across vast areas of Australia due to widespread drought, fox predation and human activities. To ensure their survival, important evidence needs to be gathered to find out where turtles live and breed, what the major causes of decline are across Australia, how far they disperse, and whether there are important source populations that help populate other areas. The app invites users assist by recording where they see turtles, their nests, if they are killed on the road, or any other evidence of turtles like skeletal remains. The TurtleSAT project is being coordinated by Dr Ricky Spencer at the University of Western Sydney in partnership with the University of Sydney, the University of South Australia, the Field Naturalists Society of South Australia and community groups throughout the Murray River region. The Centre for Invasive Species Solutions and NSW Department of Primary Industries support the project through the FeralScan program and its associated web-mapping technology.