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Monica Turner

University of Wisconsin
432 Birge Hall
430 Lincoln Dr
Madison, WI 53706
turnermg@wisc.edu
(608) 262-2592
http://www.wisc.edu/zoology/faculty/Tur/Tur.html

Research Projects

Biocomplexity Project

Surprises - large, unexpected changes from apparently small causes -- are common in systems of people and nature. Are these surprises a consequence of the complexity or nonlinearity of natural-social systems? Or can they be explained by simpler processes? Our research addresses this question for systems composed of lakes, their shoreline (riparian) vegetation and land use, and social and economic organizations of lake users. We will study the self-organization of lake users and associated characteristics of shoreline and lake ecosystems. We will determine whether thresholds in riparian organization set the stage for an important class of surprises - collapses of economically important game fish stocks. We will test the possibility that nonlinear dynamics can be used to design manipulations that remove invading crayfish from a lake. If successful, our experiment will cause a self-sustaining removal of an invasive species - a path-breaking ecological restoration.

Hydrologic and biogeochemical fluxes in regional land-water mosaics (Mellon)

The overarching goal of this project is to understand carbon and nutrient cycles for a landscape on which terrestrial and freshwater systems are intimately connected in multiple and reciprocal ways. In the Northern Highlands region of Wisconsin, they are studying a spatially complex landscape in which water features make up almost half of the land area, with wetlands (27% of land surface) and lakes (13%) both prevalent throughout the region, interspersed in upland forests. The Ecosystem and Landscape Ecology Lab hypothesize that reciprocal interactions of terrestrial vegetation and lakes, through flows of water, organic carbon, and nutrients, are more complex than previously thought. Improved understanding of these interactions demands a combination of terrestrial and aquatic expertise, in an appropriately integrated research plan.

Climate Change, Shifting Land Use, and Urbanization in a Midwestern Agricultural Landscape: Challenges for Water Quality and Quantity

The cycling of water between the atmosphere, ecosystems, and humans is a growing concern in urbanizing agricultural watersheds where changing climate, human demands, agricultural practices, land use and other policies interact. How will the benefits we receive from our diverse landscapes be sustained as climate, land use, cities, and human demands change? We will address this question using integrated scenarios, model experiments to assess effects of changing drivers on human benefits derived from ecosystems, evaluations of governance, public engagement, and information management. Our focus is the Yahara Watershed of Wisconsin, which is an exemplar of water-related issues in the Upper Midwest. We will address three specific questions.

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Recent Publications

Buffam I, Turner MG, Desalt AR, Desalt AR, Hanson PC, Rusak JA, Lottig NR, Stanley EH, Carpenter SR.  2011.  Integrating aquatic and terrestrial components to construct a complete carbon budget for a north temperate lake district. Global Change Biology. 17:1193-1211.
Buffam I, Carpenter S, Yeck W, Hanson PC, Turner MG.  2010.  Filling holes in regional carbon budgets: predicting peat depth in a north-temperate lake district. . Journal of Geophysical Research - Biogeosciences. 115:G01005.
Cardille JA, Carpenter S, Foley JA, Hanson PC, Turner MG, Vano JA.  2009.  Climate perturbations and lakes: estimating sensitivities of water and carbon budgets. Journal of Geophysical Research. 114:1-11.
Remsburg AJ, Turner MG.  2009.  Aquatic and terrestrial drivers of dragonfly (order Odonata) assemblages within and among north-temperate lakes.. Journal of the North American Benthological Society. 28:44-56.
Marburg AE, Bassak SB, Kratz TK, Turner MG.  2009.  The demography of coarse wood in north temperate lakes. Freshwater Biology. 54:1110-1119.
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Selected Datasets

Biocomplexity: Coordinated Field Studies: Riparian Littoral Sites
Biocomplexity; Coordinated Field Studies: Riparian Plots
Biocomplexity; Coordinated Field Studies: Littoral Plots
Predicting Peat Depth in a North Temperate Lake District
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