Vice President, Conservation Priorities ＆ Outreach; Chief Scientist, The Betty and Gordon Moore Center for Science and Oceans
Talk to me about: Ecosystem Services, Climate Change, Biodiversity Science, Ecology, Protected Areas
Location: U.S. - D.C./Virginia
Languages: English
contact me Will Turner is Vice President, Conservation Priorities and Outreach at Conservation International, where he also leads CI’s Species Initiative and Metrics & Priority Setting team. Dr. Turner’s interests focus on integrating our knowledge of biodiversity, climate change, and socioeconomics to safeguard biodiversity and support the billions who depend on it. A native of Austin, Texas, Dr. Turner studied computer engineering at The University of Texas and earned his Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of Arizona. His writings include both popular and scientific articles on topics such as climate change, ecosystem services, conservation planning, ecological monitoring, biogeography, animal behavior, and the relationship between nature and human societies.
Publications
Brundtland, G. H., P. Ehrlich, J. Goldemberg, J. Hansen, A. Lovins, G. Likens, L. J., S. Manabe, R. May, H. Mooney, K.-H. Robert, E. Salim, G. Sato, S. Solomon, N. Stern, R. Watson, Barefoot College, Conservation International [W. R. Turner a lead author], International Institute for Environment and Development, and International Union for Conservation of Nature. 2012. Environment and Development Challenges: The Imperative to Act. Asahi Glass Foundation Blue Planet Prize, Tokyo.
Turner, W. R., R. A. Mittermeier, J. Marton-Lefèvre, S. N. Stuart, J. Smart, J. M. Langley, F. W. Larsen, and E. R. Selig. 2012. Biodiversity: Conserving the foundation of sustainable development. In Environment and Development Challenges: The Imperative to Act. Asahi Glass Foundation Blue Planet Prize, Tokyo.
Turner, W. R., R. A. Mittermeier, J. Marton-Lefèvre, S. N. Stuart, J. Smart, and R. Neugarten. 2012. Ecosystem Services: Accounting for the benefits that nature provides to humanity. In Environment and Development Challenges: The Imperative to Act. Asahi Glass Foundation Blue Planet Prize, Tokyo.
Turner, W. R., R. A. Mittermeier, J. Marton-Lefèvre, S. N. Stuart, J. Smart, D. G. Hole, and E. R. Selig. 2012. Climate change: Protecting biodiversity and harnessing nature’s climate solutions. In Environment and Development Challenges: The Imperative to Act. Asahi Glass Foundation Blue Planet Prize, Tokyo.
Killeen, T. J., G. Schroth, W. Turner, C. A. Harvey, M. K. Steininger, C. Dragisic, and R. A. Mittermeier. 2011. Stabilizing the agricultural frontier: Leveraging REDD with biofuels for sustainable development. Biomass and Bioenergy.
Larsen, F. W., M. C. Londoño-Murcia, and W. R. Turner. 2012. Global priorities for conservation of threatened species, carbon storage, and freshwater services: scope for synergy? Conservation Letters.
Mittermeier, R. A., W. R. Turner, F. W. Larsen, T. M. Brooks, and C. Gascon. 2011. Global biodiversity conservation: The critical role of hotspots. In Zachos, F. and J. C. Habel, eds. Biodiversity Hotspots. Springer Berlin Heidelberg.
Turner, W. R., K. Brandon, T. M. Brooks, C. Gascon, H. Gibbs, K. Lawrence, R. A. Mittermeier, and E. Selig. 2012. Global biodiversity conservation and poverty alleviation. BioScience 62:85-92.
Busch, J., F. Godoy, W. R. Turner, and C. A. Harvey. 2011. Biodiversity co-benefits of reducing emissions from deforestation under alternative reference levels and levels of finance. Conservation Letters 4:101-115.
Bode, M., W. Probert, W. R. Turner, K. A. Wilson, and O. Venter. 2011. Conservation planning with multiple organizations and objectives. Conservation Biology 25:295-304.
Farrell, T. A., D. Batker, L. Emerton, and W. R. Turner. 2011. Freshwater ecosystem services. In Mittermeier, R. A., T. A. Farrell, I. J. Harrison, A. J. Upgren, and T. M. Brooks, eds. Freshwater: The Essence of Life. CEMEX & iLCP, Arlington, VA, USA.
Turner, W. R., B. A. Bradley, L. D. Estes, D. G. Hole, M. Oppenheimer, and D. S. Wilcove. 2010. Climate change: Helping Nature survive the human response. Conservation Letters 3:304:312.
Foster, M. N., R. A. Mittermeier, T. Badman, C. Besancon, B. Bomhard, T. M. Brooks, N. De Silva, L. Fishpool, M. Parr, E. Radford, and W. R. Turner. 2010. Synergies between World Heritage Sites and Key Biodiversity Areas. World Heritage 56:4-17.
Wilson, K., E. Meijaard, S. Drummond, H. Grantham, L. Boitani, G. Catullo, L. Christie, R. Dennis, I. Dutton, A. Falcucci, L. Maiorano, H. Possingham, C. Rondinini, W. Turner, O. Venter, and M. Watts. 2010. Conserving biodiversity in production landscapes. Ecological Applications 20:1721-1732.
Turner, W. R., M. Oppenheimer, and D. S. Wilcove. 2009. Biodiversity: A force to fight global warming. Nature 462:278-279.
McNeely, J. A., R. A. Mittermeier, T. M. Brooks, F. Boltz, N. Ash, C. Gascon, W. R. Turner, and C. G. Mittermeier. 2009. Introduction. In: McNeely, J. A., R. A. Mittermeier, T. M. Brooks, F. Boltz, and N. Ash, eds. The Wealth of Nature: Ecosystem Services, Biodiversity, and Human Well-Being. CEMEX, Mexico City.
Tjørve, E. and W. R. Turner. 2009. The importance of samples and isolates for species-area relationships. Ecography 32:391-400.
Turner, W. R. and R. L. Pressey. 2009. Building and implementing systems of conservation areas. In S. Levin, ed. The Princeton Guide to Ecology. Princeton University Press, Princeton.
Dragisic, C., J. Buchanan, G. Fonseca, T. Killeen, A. Kutter, L. Ledwith, R. Mittermeier, P. G. Prado, J. M. Silva, M. Totten, and W. Turner. 2008. Biofuels. In: R.A. Mittermeier, C.G. Mittermeier, and M. Totten, eds. A Climate for Life: Meeting the Global Challenge. CEMEX, Monterrey, Mexico.
Brandon, K., W. R. Turner, G. Schroth, and M. Bakarr. 2008. Benefits of biodiversity conservation to agriculture and rural livelihoods. Biodiversity 9:82-85.
Bode, M., K. A. Wilson, T. M. Brooks, R. A. Mittermeier, W. R. Turner, M. F. McBride, E. C. Underwood, and H. P. Possingham. 2008. Cost-effective global conservation spending is robust to taxonomic group. Proc. Nat Acad. Sci. USA 105:6498-6501.
Turner, W. R., K. Brandon, T. M. Brooks, R. Costanza, G. A. B. da Fonseca, and R. Portela. 2007. Global conservation of biodiversity and ecosystem services. BioScience 57:868-873.
Dobson, A., W. R. Turner and D. S. Wilcove. 2007. Conservation biology: unsolved problems and their policy implications. Pages 172-189 in R. M. May and A. McLean, eds. Theoretical Ecology. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Turner, W. R. 2007. Loss of extinct species from popular field guides: a preventable shifting baseline? Birding 39 (2): 60-63.
Butchart, S. H. M., H. R. Akçakaya, J. Chanson, J. E. M. Baillie, B. Collen, S. Quader, W. R. Turner, R. Amin, S. N. Stuart, and C. Hilton-Taylor. 2007. Improvements to the Red List Index. PLoS One 1:e140.
Turner, W. R., D. S. Wilcove, and H. M. Swain. 2006. Assessing the effectiveness of reserve acquisition programs in protecting rare and threatened species. Conservation Biology 20:1657-1669.
Turner, W. R. 2006. Interactions among spatial scales constrain species distributions in fragmented urban landscapes. Ecology and Society 11:6.
Turner, W. R., D. S. Wilcove, and H. M. Swain. 2006. State of the Scrub: Conservation Progress, Management Responsibilities, and Land Acquisition Priorities for Imperiled Species of Florida’s Lake Wales Ridge. Archbold Biological Station, Lake Placid, Florida. ISBN 0-9714088-1-5.
Turner, W. R. and D. S. Wilcove. 2006. Adaptive decision rules for nature reserve acquisition. Conservation Biology 20:527-537.
Turner, W. R. and Tjørve, E. 2005. Scale-dependence in species-area relationships. Ecography 28:721-730.
Turner, W. R., T. Nakamura, and M. Dinetti. 2004. Global urbanization and the separation of humans from nature. BioScience 54:585-590.
Turner, W. R. 2003. Citywide biological monitoring as a tool for ecology and conservation in urban landscapes: the case of the Tucson Bird Count. Landscape and Urban Planning 65:149-166.
Turner, W. R. 2003. The Tucson Bird Count interactive results and analysis. Online at [http://www.tucsonbirds.org/results/].
Turner, W. R. 2003. Bird banding at Tumacácori National Historical Park, AZ: 2003 report and recommendations to the National Park Service.
Rosenzweig, M. L., W. R. Turner, J. G. Cox, and T. H. Ricketts. 2003. Estimating diversity in unsampled habitats of a biogeographical province. Conservation Biology 17:864-874.
Turner, W. R. 2002. The Tucson Bird Count: Current progress and future prospects. Vermilion Flycatcher 47:16.
Leitner, W. A. and W. R. Turner. 2001. Measurement and analysis of biodiversity. Vol. 4, pp 23-44 in Levin, S., ed., Encyclopedia of Biodiversity, Academic Press, San Diego.
Turner, W. R. 2001. Native birds are in trouble in Tucson. Is there hope? Vermilion Flycatcher 45:21-24.
Turner, W. R., W. A. Leitner and M. L. Rosenzweig. 2000. WS2M: Software for the Measurement and Analysis of Species Diversity. Version 2.0.1. Program and documentation at [http://eebweb.arizona.edu/diversity/].
Kime, N. M., W. R. Turner and M. J. Ryan. 2000. The transmission of advertisement calls in Central American frogs. Behavioral Ecology 11:71-83.