Monica G. Turner is an American
ecologist
Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overlaps wi ...
known for her work at
Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone National Park is an American national park located in the western United States, largely in the northwest corner of Wyoming and extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U.S. Congress with the Yellowston ...
since the
large fires of 1988. She is currently the
Eugene P. Odum
Eugene Pleasants Odum (September 17, 1913 – August 10, 2002) was an American biologist at the University of Georgia known for his pioneering work on ecosystem ecology. He and his brother Howard T. Odum wrote the popular ecology textbook, ''Funda ...
Professor of Ecology at the
University of Wisconsin–Madison
A university () is an educational institution, institution of higher education, higher (or Tertiary education, tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. Universities ty ...
.
Life and career
Turner was raised in the suburbs of
Long Island
Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...
just outside
New York city
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. Her father was a self-employed lawyer and her mother was a Girl Scouts executive. Turner obtained her B.S in Biology
summa cum laude
Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...
from Fordham University in 1980. Turner went on to receive her Ph.D. in Ecology from the University of Georgia.
After finishing her Ph.D., she stayed at the University of Georgia as a postdoctoral researcher. She worked with
Eugene P. Odum
Eugene Pleasants Odum (September 17, 1913 – August 10, 2002) was an American biologist at the University of Georgia known for his pioneering work on ecosystem ecology. He and his brother Howard T. Odum wrote the popular ecology textbook, ''Funda ...
to examine the changes in land use in the Georgia landscape, one of the earliest US landscape ecology studies.
In 1986, together with Colleague Frank Golley, Turner helped organize the first American meeting for landscape ecology. In 1987, after completion of her postdoctoral research, Turner went on to become a staff scientist at the
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is a U.S. multiprogram science and technology national laboratory sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and administered, managed, and operated by UT–Battelle as a federally funded research and ...
. At Oak Ridge, Turner began a project on the spatial distribution of land use in forests of the southern Appalachian Mountains.
Work at Yellowstone
During her time at Oak Ridge, her group developed simulations important in modeling key concepts in landscape ecology, including predictions of species movement patterns, spread of disturbance, and the connectivity of habitats across landscapes. In 1988, Turner sought to find a landscape in which to study her model. After rejoining with fellow ecologist Bill Romme, an expert in Yellowstone fire-history, Turner was able to find the landscape she needed in the fire-ridden Yellowstone, in which more than one-third of the park had been burned.
That 1988 "summer of fire" made Yellowstone history. Early blazes, sparked in June by a combination of lightning and human activities, burned for several weeks without raising much concern. As the summer got hotter and drier, though, the situation quickly turned. In July, "we had active fires spread, but nothing that we hadn't previously experienced," recalls Roy Renkin, a Yellowstone biologist. "But then, here came August. ... Then things started to really pick up and go."
Turner also examined the regrowth of lodgepole pine and other dominant tree species in the park.
Turner and Romme began working in the park in the summer of 1989. With no funding, they recruited volunteer labor. Friends, former students, and family members pitched in when they could. Even Turner’s mother spent her two weeks of vacation in the park measuring burned trees.
Turner's work at Yellowstone gave insight into vegetation dynamics concerning changing disturbance regimes, vertebrate grazing, and soil-microbe nutrient interactions. After Yellowstone's stand-replacing fire in 2000, Turner found that relatively large amounts of ammonium depletion occurred during the first four years.
Turner’s work at Yellowstone, over a period of 20 years, has provided an insight unto the resiliency of ecosystems after major disturbances. Turner, on the future of ecological disturbances, stated ‘‘As we continue to deal with the effects of global warming, I think we are going to see an increasing frequency, severity, and range of disturbances, which will produce much more interaction.’’
Current work
Turner's current research at the University of Wisconsin includes:
* Fire, vegetation and ecosystem processes in Yellowstone National Park
* Bark beetles, fire and salvage logging in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem
* Landscape dynamics and ecological change in the Southern Appalachians
* Land-water interactions in north temperate landscapes
* Tools and resources for landscape ecology
Awards
Turner was elected to the
United States National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...
in 2004. In 2008, she received the
ECI Prize
The ECI Prize is a prize awarded annually from 1986 onwards to an ecologist distinguished by outstanding and sustained scientific achievements. It is awarded jointly by the International Ecology Institute, a non-profit organization of research eco ...
in terrestrial ecology and the
Robert H. MacArthur Award
The Robert H. MacArthur Award is a biennial prize given by the Ecological Society of America to ecologists for their pivotal contributions to their field. The acceptance speeches of many recipients have been given at the annual meeting of the soci ...
from the Ecological Society of America. In 2020 she was awarded the
Benjamin Franklin Medal (Franklin Institute)
The Franklin Institute Awards (or Benjamin Franklin Medal) is an American science and engineering award presented by the Franklin Institute, a science museum in Philadelphia. The Franklin Institute awards comprises the Benjamin Franklin Medals ...
.
Benjamin Franklin Medal 2020
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Books
* ''Landscape Heterogeneity and Disturbance''
* ''Quantitative Methods in Landscape Ecology''
* ''Landscape Ecology in Theory and Practice'' (co-authored with R.H. Gardner and R.V. O'Neill)
* ''Learning Landscape Ecology: A Practical Guide to Concepts and Techniques'' (co-authored Gergel, S.E.)
* ''Ecosystem Function in Heterogeneous Landscapes'' (co-authored Lovett, G.M., C.G. Jones and K.C. Weathers)
* ''Foundation Papers in Landscape Ecology'' (co-authored with Wiens, J.A., M.R. Moss and D. J. Mladenoff)
References
External links
Profiles of Professional Ecologists: Monica G. Turner
in the Ecological Society of America
The Ecological Society of America (ESA) is a professional organization of ecological scientists. Based in the United States and founded in 1915, ESA publications include peer-reviewed journals, newsletters, fact sheets, and teaching resources. I ...
.
Profile ECI Prize Winner: Monica G Turner
in the Inter-Research Science Center
Ecosystem and Landscape Ecology Lab of Dr. Monica G Turner
at University of Wisconsin–Madison
A university () is an educational institution, institution of higher education, higher (or Tertiary education, tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. Universities ty ...
http://www.zoology.wisc.edu/faculty/tur/Tur.html Faculty Page at the University of Wisconsin–Madison
{{DEFAULTSORT:Turner, Monica
Living people
Women ecologists
American ecologists
Fordham University alumni
University of Georgia alumni
University of Wisconsin–Madison faculty
Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences
Fellows of the Ecological Society of America
Year of birth missing (living people)
Ecology journal editors