In tandem with staff from the National Parks and Wildlife service (NPWS) and the Office of Environment and Heritage (OEH), they’ll also sample other affected species and it’s hoped the results of these surveys will guide species recovery.

Part of the joint agency team is Taronga’s registry scientist, Dr Karrie Rose.

She played a leading role in the diagnostic investigation and worked with NSW DPI scientists to identify the virus responsible for the deaths.

“Each turtle examined was found to be suffering from an unusual and consistent pattern of severe inflammatory lesions,” Dr Rose said.

“When active collaboration with six universities, and state and commonwealth agriculture laboratories ruled out the presence of known pathogens of reptiles and aquatic species, we suspected that we were likely to be dealing with something new. 

“Working with Dr Peter Kirkland, and his team of virologists at NSW DPI, a novel virus was identified as the likely cause of the outbreak.

“Additional field work is being undertaken to test any remnant turtles found as the animals emerge from torpor, and to survey other species in the waterway for the possible presence of the virus.”

OEH has nominated the snapping turtles for listing under the Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995. The NSW Scientific Committee has made a preliminary determination to list the species as critically endangered. The preliminary determination is currently on public exhibition.

In April, 17 turtles were taken into captivity by OEH as “an insurance population.” These turtles have tested negative for the identified virus so far and scientists say they will form the basis of a breeding program for species recovery.

The surveys coincide with ‘Turtle Month’ – an event asking Australians to use their smartphones and join the fight as turtles leave the safety of the water to nest.

“In November, to help pinpoint the location of turtles across Australia, we have launched TurtleSAT, a mobile app and website to log sightings of turtles, alive and dead,” University ofWestern Sydney’s Dr Ricky Spencer said.

“By knowing where turtles are crossing roads or making their nests, we can introduce new measures to protect them.

“As a result of Turtle Month last year, we had more than 1000 recordings on TurtleSAT, which resulted in the construction of road signs to warn drivers of areas where turtles are crossing and conservation agencies are now directing resources into managing nesting grounds, rather than broad-scale poison baiting.

“This is citizen science in action.”

Dr Spencer says time is running out for turtles around Australia and they perform important functions in the ecosystem.

“The Bellinger River snapping turtle – a species over two million years old – was in healthy numbers in January this year, but by March it was close to extinction,” he said.

“Throughout most of Australia, predation on nests and nesting females is extreme, with foxes able to destroy up to 100 per cent of turtle nests in an area.

 “Turtles are top predators and major scavengers and if they disappear like they have in the Bellinger River, then water quality will be affected.

“The good news is, there is hope. If people around Australia record their turtle sightings through TurtleSAT, we can take measures to protect the fragile populations still left and help the animals recover.”