Editing Red-eared slider (section)

===Invasive status in Australia===
In Australia, breeding populations have been found in New South Wales and Queensland, and individual turtles have been found in the wild in Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory, and Western Australia.<ref name=Csurhes-Hankamer-2016>{{cite report |author1=Csurhes, S. |author2=Hankamer, C. |orig-year=2012 |edition=updated |year=2016 |title=Red-eared slider turtle |department=Invasive animal risk assessment |series=Biosecurity Queensland |publisher=Queensland Government |place=[[Queensland]], AU |url=https://www.daf.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/76836/IPA-Red-Eared-Slider-Turtle-Risk-Assessment.pdf |access-date=2017-05-29}}</ref>

Red-eared slider turtles are considered a significant threat to native turtle species; they mature more quickly, grow larger, produce more offspring, and are more aggressive.<ref name=Csurhes-Hankamer-2016/> Numerous studies indicate that red-eared slider turtles can out-compete native turtles for food and nesting and basking sites.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Polo-Cavia, N. |author2=López, P. |author3=Martín, J. |year=2010 |title=Competitive interactions during basking between native and invasive freshwater turtle species |journal=Biological Invasions |volume=12 |issue=7 |pages=2141–2152|doi=10.1007/s10530-009-9615-0 |bibcode=2010BiInv..12.2141P |s2cid=37769857 }}</ref> Unlike the general diet of pet red-eared sliders, wild red-eared sliders are usually omnivorous.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Prevot-Julliard, A. C. |author2=Gousset, E. |author3=Archinard, C. |author4= Cadi, A. |author5=Girondot, M. |year=2007 |title=Pets and invasion risks: is the Slider turtle strictly carnivorous? | journal=Amphibia-Reptilia |volume=28 |issue=1|pages=139–143 |doi=10.1163/156853807779799036 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Because red-eared slider turtles eat plants as well as animals, they could also have a negative impact on a range of native aquatic species, including rare frogs.<ref>{{cite conference |author=O'Keefe, S. |year=2005 |title=Investing in conjecture: Eradicating the red-eared slider in Queensland |conference=13th Australasian Vertebrate Pest Conference |place=Wellington, New Zealand}}</ref> Also, a significant risk exists that red-eared slider turtles can transfer diseases and parasites to native reptile species. A malaria-like parasite was spread to two wild turtle populations in Lane Cove River, Sydney.<ref>{{cite report |year=2009 |title=Red-eared slider: Social and economic impacts |series=Animal pest alert |volume=6/2009 |department=Department of Agriculture and Food |place=Western Australia}}</ref>

Social and economic costs are also likely to be substantial. The Queensland government has invested close to AU$1 million in eradication programs to date.<ref name=Csurhes-Hankamer-2016/> The turtle may also cause significant public-health costs due to the impacts of turtle-associated salmonella on human health. Outbreaks in multiple states and fatalities in children, associated with handling ''Salmonella''-infected turtles, have been recorded in the US.<ref>{{cite journal |publisher=[[Center for Disease Control]] |place=United States |year=2007 |title=Turtle associated salmonellosis in humans |department=United States 2006–2007 |periodical=Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (CDC MMWR) |volume=56 |issue=26 |pages=649–652}}</ref> Salmonella can also spread to humans when turtles contaminate drinking water.<ref>{{cite report |author=Bomford, M. |year=2008 |title=Risk assessment models for establishment of exotic vertebrates in Australia and New Zealand |publisher=Invasive Animals Cooperative Research Centre |place=Canberra, ACT, Australia}}</ref>

The actions by state governments have varied considerably to date, ranging from ongoing eradication efforts by the Queensland government to very little action by the government of New South Wales.<ref name=ISC-AU-2014>{{cite report |publisher=Invasive Species Council |place=Australia |year=2014 |series=Biosecurity Failures in Australia |title=Red-eared slider turtles |url=https://invasives.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Biosecurity-failures-red-eared-slider-turtles.pdf |access-date=2017-05-29 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> Experts have ranked the species as high priority for management in Australia, and are calling for a national prevention and eradication strategy, including a concerted education and compliance program to stop the illegal trade, possession, and release of slider turtles.{{refn|''For example see''<ref name=ISC-AU-2014/> and <ref>{{cite report |author1=Massam, M. |author2=Kirkpatrick, W. |author3=Page, A. |year=2010 |title=Assessment and prioritisation of risk for forty introduced animal species |publisher=Invasive Animals Cooperative Research Centre |place=Canberra, AU}}</ref> }}