While this may concern the average reader, it is an essential method of operation for University of Canberra researcher, Professor Arthur Georges.

Arthur Georges has been studying turtles for 20 years and is currently researching the Cooper Creek short-necked turtle (Emydura sp.) which is found only in the Lake Eyre Basin. He has been gathering data, marking shells, and collecting stomach contents as part of broader, long-term study of turtles and how indicator species can be used to monitor river health.

According to Arthur, turtles are special because they are long-lived, therefore the impact of an event on a population may show up well after the event itself. For example, the history of many past flood events may be recorded in the shells of individual turtles, and any boost to a turtle population will occur well after a flood event that drives the boom in other aquatic life.

A recent field trip to about 20 major waterholes in the middle reaches of the Cooper system by Arthur and his team of three international students saw them capture and collect data from 790 turtles. Their trapping methods were so successful that in some waterholes where fishing has not occurred for many years, the bounty of their catch overflowed the boat.

Specimens were weighed, measured, marked with an identifying code, and sexed. While age is difficult to determine, some individuals were thought to be in excess of 100 years old. Genetic material was collected for further study, while stomach contents were collected to identify food sources and gauge the health of the waterholes. It was found that in some waterholes the turtles were eating mainly black algae while the same species in another waterhole was consuming a range of foods from snails, mussels and dead fish through to algae.

Laparoscopic examinations were also carried out to determine sexual maturity and reproductive activity. The team is looking at the differences in sexual maturity between undisturbed populations of larger individuals and the populations of smaller individuals in disturbed habitats where, for example, the adult population has been depleted through netting. While turtles can survive short periods in dried waterholes by aestivating (lying dormant) in wet mud below the surface, they usually drown if caught in a net – they can only hold their breath for about three hours.

The life cycle of the Cooper Creek short-necked turtle is geared to a high juvenile mortality and a low adult mortality. Therefore, the removal of adults from a population can have severe ramifications for the survival of that population.

According to Arthur Georges, it is well known that the Cooper Creek short-necked turtle primarily inhabits permanent waterholes, but it is now thought that many stay in the same waterhole all their life, moving out onto the floodplains during flood, then back to their home waterhole when the waters recede.

“We need to identify the attributes of waterholes that are important to turtles and make sure we preserve those attributes,” he said. “This will carry attendant benefits for a wide range of aquatic fauna that have a lesser profile, and whose interests therefore do not often warrant our concern.”