Mystery of the Missing Turtles

About the Author

Associate Professor Deborah Bower is a turtle biologist who co-created the 1 Million Turtles Citizen Science Project to encourage participation in turtle conservation in Australia. Her research includes the secret lives of turtles in the floodplains of the Murray-Darling Basin, channel country of Cooper Creek, and Lawn Hill gorge at Boodjamulla. Professor Ricky Spencer is a turtle biologist who co-created the 1 Million Turtles Citizen Science Project to encourage participation in turtle conservation in Australia. He leads large-scale wetland restoration projects across Australia, helping create safe places for turtles and other wildlife to thrive. Professor Mike Thompson is a turtle biologist who co-created 1 Million Turtles Citizen Science Project to encourage participation in turtle conservation in Australia. He has studied turtles in the River Murray since the 1970s and now lives in South Australia where he works with Indigenous and other community groups to reverse the decline of turtles. Associate Professor James Van Dyke is a turtle biologist who co-created the 1 Million Turtles Citizen Science Project to encourage participation in turtle conservation in Australia. His research focuses on the ecology and conservation of turtles in the southern Murray River basin, with a growing focus on how artificial waterways can act as refuge habitat. Elizabeth Hale researches and teaches children's literature and writing at the University of New England. Dr James O’Hanlon is an award-winning science communicator, author and illustrator. Whether through art, science or storytelling, James works to illuminate the beauty and complexity of creatures that are often overlooked. He is also the author and illustrator of Sid and the Very Hard to Find Squid (CSIRO Publishing, 2025).