Monica Turner (1925 – 9 October 2013) was an English ornithologist who was the first woman ornithologist to acquire a doctorate in Britain, in 1952. She published under her maiden name Monica Betts. Her thesis was entitled ''The Availability of Food and Predation by the Genus Parus'' and examined bird populations in the woods in

Wytham Woods Wytham Woods is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest north-west of Oxford in Oxfordshire. It is a Nature Conservation Review site. Habitats in this site, which formerly belonged to Abingdon Abbey, include ancient woodland and limest ...

near

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

and the

Forest of Dean The Forest of Dean is a geographical, historical and cultural region in the western part of the Counties of England, county of Gloucestershire, England. It forms a roughly triangle, triangular plateau bounded by the River Wye to the west and no ...

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

, under the guidance of

David Lack David Lambert Lack FRS (16 July 1910 – 12 March 1973) was a British evolutionary biologist who made contributions to ornithology, ecology, and ethology. His 1947 book, ''Darwin's Finches'', on the finches of the Galapagos Islands was a land ...

Biography

Monica Turner was born Monica Betts, in

Nuneaton Nuneaton ( ) is a market town in Warwickshire, England, close to the county border with Leicestershire to the north-east.OS Explorer Map 232 : Nuneaton & Tamworth: (1:25 000) : Nuneaton's population at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 censu ...

, Warwickshire in 1925. She had a love of birds and the countryside from a young age. She studied zoology at the University College London before joining the Edward Grey Institute, where she researched under David Lack. She was initially a field assistant for Peter Hartley and then obtained a grant from the Agriculture Research Council for her own research. After her doctorate, she worked on a project funded by the Nature Conservancy with John Gibb. Monica married Geoffrey Turner in 1957 and lived in

Cumnor Cumnor is a village and civil parish 3½ miles (5.6 km) west of the centre of Oxford, England. The village is about 2 miles (3.2 km) south-west of Botley and its centre is west of the A420 road to Swindon. The parish includes Cumno ...

, near

. Geoffrey died in 1984. They have two children, Jonathan and Jessica, and also two grandchildren. Turner was a great contributor to village life and was a member of Cumnor Parish Council. She also had a great love of

Norwich Terrier The Norwich Terrier is a breed of dog originating in England, and was bred to hunt small rodents. One of the smallest terriers, these dogs are relatively rare. Their drop-eared variety is the Norfolk Terrier. Description Appearance These ...

s. She died in Oxford in 2013, aged 88.Monica Turner
Oxford Mail, 17 October 2013

Education

As an undergraduate student Turner read

Zoology Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the anatomy, structure, embryology, Biological classification, classification, Ethology, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinction, extinct, and ...

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

. The university had been re-located to Bangor during the war, and being on the doorstep of

Snowdonia National Park Snowdonia, or Eryri (), is a mountainous region and National parks of the United Kingdom, national park in North Wales. It contains all 15 mountains in Wales Welsh 3000s, over 3000 feet high, including the country's highest, Snowdon (), which i ...

appealed, though the final year of her study was completed back in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. She obtained a first class degree. Upon completion of her undergraduate study, she immediately joined the Edward Grey Institute as Peter Hartley's field assistant.

Career

Turner joined the

Edward Grey Institute of Field Ornithology The Edward Grey Institute of Field Ornithology (EGI), at Oxford University in England, is an academic body that conducts research in ornithology and the general field of evolutionary ecology and conservation biology, with an emphasis on under ...

in 1948 to conduct research on the foraging behaviour of

great tit The great tit (''Parus major'') is a small passerine bird in the tit family Paridae. It is a widespread and common species throughout Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia and east across the Palearctic to the Amur River, south to parts of No ...

s and

blue tit The Eurasian blue tit (''Cyanistes caeruleus'') is a small passerine bird in the tit (bird), tit family, Paridae. It is easily recognizable by its blue and yellow plumage and small size. Eurasian blue tits, usually resident bird, resident a ...

s. She was one of the first doctoral students to join the institute after the war, and also one of the first female students. She soon obtained a five-year grant from the Agriculture Research Council and this resulted in her thesis. An understanding of great tit behaviour was thought to be of potential importance in controlling caterpillar populations that were reducing timber production. Her thesis results showed that great tits actually captured a tiny proportion of the caterpillar population, amongst other things. As an early research scientist she was one of few women in a male dominated department. However she went on to have a long academic career and conducted further post-doctoral studies on tits, obtaining a second five-year grant from the Agricultural Research Council. Turner then worked on the

Nature Conservancy The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, United States. it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories, as well as across every state in the US. Founded in ...

funded Breckland Research Project with John Gibb on tits and their prey in the

Breckland Breckland in Norfolk and Suffolk is a 39,433 hectare Special Protection Area (SPA) under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds. The SPA partly overlaps the 7,544 hectare Breckland Special Area of Conservation. As a la ...

pine woods in the east of England.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Turner, Monica English ornithologists British women ornithologists 1925 births 2013 deaths Academics of Oxford Brookes University Alumni of University College London 20th-century English women scientists English women scientists People from Nuneaton

Biography

Education

Career

Further reading

References