Desert Laboratory
U.S. Geological Survey
1675 West Anklam Road
Tucson AZ 85745
A westerner by birth, Ray Turner was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, in 1927. He attended Utah State University, the University of Utah (B.S. 1948: Botany) and Washington State University (Ph.D. 1954: Botany). He taught at the University of Arizona (1954-1962) before joining the U. S. Geological Survey.
Ray Turner's interest in desert vegetation dynamics has resulted in studies of long-term permanent vegetation study plots as well as in his use of repeat photography for documenting landscape change. His interest in repeat photography was aroused during preparation, with Rod Hastings, of The Changing Mile, a book describing vegetation change in southern Arizona and northern Sonora, Mexico. Turner is also author or coauthor of publications describing changes in riparian vegetation along the Gila and Colorado Rivers; changes in permanent vegetation study plots at the Desert Laboratory, Tucson, Arizona, and in MacDougal Crater, Pinacate Preserve, Sonora, Mexico.
Turner's studies at the Desert Laboratory's Tumamoc Hill property have included a floral checklist, exotic plants mapping, saguaro population dynamics, blue palo verde population dynamics, foothill palo verde population dynamics, permanent plot evaluation, and growth and phenology of velvet mesquite and foothill palo verde.
Retired since 1989, he has subsequently coauthored three books, Sonoran Desert Plants: An Ecological Atlas, Kenya's Changing Landscape, and The Changing Mile Revisited, a revised edition of The Changing Mile. He is still using the camera to recapture old landscape scenes in New Mexico's "bootheel" country and in Kenya.
Born February 25, 1927, Salt Lake City, Utah; married 1949; three children; four grandchildren.
Ph.D .Botany (major) and soils (minor), Washington State College, 1954
B.S. Botany, University of Utah, 1948
Ecological Society of America
Sociedad Botánica de México
Arizona-Nevada Academy of Science (Fellow)
American Association for the Advancement of Science (Fellow)
2002 (June-July) and 2003 (June and July): Travelled throughout Kenya matching photographs first taken a few decades earlier to more than 100 years earlier. The purpose was to determine possible differences in vegetation dynamics inside national parks and outside of these parks.
1992 (June-July): Worked in Kenya matching photographs first taken in 1920. This work is an extension of studies conducted in North America of long-term changes in arid region vegetation.
March 1989: Retired
Sept. 1962 to March 1989: Botanist, National Research Program, U. S. Geological Survey, Tucson, Arizona. Project Chief from 1974 to 1989 of project titled "Ecohydrology of Arid Lands." Research mainly concerned with vegetation change in North American deserts. Focus has been on saguaro cactus demography, changes in riparian plant communities, climatic controls of contemporary plant ranges, and repeat photography for documenting landscape change.
1989 to present: Emeritus Professor, Geosciences Department, University of Arizona.
1977-1989: Adjunct Professor, Geosciences Department, University of Arizona.
1974: Consultant with AID program in subsahelian Africa (2 months)
Sept. 1956 to Sept. 1962: Assistant Professor, Botany Department, University of Arizona.
October 1954 to Sept. 1956: Instructor and Assistant Professor (July 1956), Agronomy and Range Management Department, University of Arizona.
1944-1946, 1949: Temporary summer employment as field assistant with U. S. Forest Service during four summers.
1957: Three-year grant from National Science Foundation for study of growth in desert trees.
1992: National Geographic Society grant for project titled "Photographic Evidence of Vegetation Change in Kenya, 1920-1992."
2002: National Geographic Society grant for project titled "Photographic Documentation of Ecological Change in Kenya."
1966: acting Review Editor for Ecology (6 months)
1982-1988: Board of Trustees, Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum.
1987-1990: Board of Trustees, Arizona Chapter, The Nature Conservancy.
Dec. 1992-present: Board of Trustees, The Animas Foundation.
1994-present: Board of Trustees, Malpai Borderlands Group.
Dec. 1, 2003-Nov. 30, 2006: Board of Trustees, Southern Arizona Chapter, The Arizona Historical Society.
Turner, R. M. 1956 A study of some features of growth and reproduction of Pinus ponderosa in northern Idaho: Ecology 27:742-753.
Hoshaw, R. W., S. S. Tepfer, and R. M. Turner, 1957. Structure and functions of the flowering plant: A laboratory outline. Burgess Publishing Company: Minneapolis, MN.
Kurtz, E. B., Jr., and R. M. Turner, 1957. An oil-flotation method for the recovery of pollen from inorganic sediments: Micropaleontology 3:67-68.
Turner, R. M., 1960, Evolution of the vegetation of the southwestern desert region. University of Arizona Arid Lands Colloquia for 1958-1959, p. 46-54.
Turner, R. M., 1963, Growth in four species of Sonoran Desert trees: Ecology 44: 760-765.
Hastings, J. R., and R. M.Turner. 1965. The changing mile: An ecological study of vegetation change with time in the lower mile of an arid and semi-arid region. University of Arizona Press:Tucson. 317 p.
Turner, R.M., 1965, Seasonal precipitation regimes in Baja California, Mexico. Geografiska Annaler 47, ser. A: 204-223.
Turner, R. M., S. M. Alcorn, G. Olin, and J. A.Booth. 1966. The influence of shade, soil and water on saguaro seedling establishment. Botanical Gazette 127(2-3):95-102.
Turner, R. M., S. M. Alcorn, and G. Olin. 1969. Mortality of transplanted saguaro seedlings. Ecology 50(5):835-844.
Turner, R. M. 1970. Plant communities as objects for study. Ecology 51(5):947-948. (Book review)
Culler, R. C., and R. M. Turner. 1970. Relation of remote sensing to transpiration of flood plain vegetation. Second Annual Earth Resources Aircraft Program Status Review, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, v. 3, 5 p.
Turner, R.M., 1971, Measuring vegetation from Ektachrome infrared aerial photographs. Arizona Regional Ecological Test Site Symposium, p. 56-59.
Turner, R.M., 1971, Measurement of plant community cover from aerial photographs: Third Annual Earth Resource Aircraft Program Status Review, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, v. 3, p. 50-1 to 50-8.
Turner, R.M., 1971, Measurement of spatial and temporal changes in vegetation from color IR film: Proceedings, International Workshop on Earth Resources Survey Systems, Ann Arbor, Michigan, May 3-15, 1971, p. 513-525 and Proceedings, American Society of Photogrammetry, ACSM Fall Convention, September 1971, 16 p.
Hastings, J. R., R. M. Turner, and D. K. Warren. 1972. An atlas of some plant distributions in the Sonoran Desert. Institute of Atmospheric Physics, University of Arizona, Technical Reports on the Meteorology and Climatology of Arid Regions No. 21, 255 p.
Turner, R.M., 1974. Quantitative and historical evidence of vegetation changes along the upper Gila River, Arizona. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 655-H, H1-H20.
Turner, R.M., 1974. Map showing vegetation in the Phoenix area, Arizona. U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Investigation Series I-845-I.
Turner, R.M., 1974. Map showing vegetation in the Tucson area, Arizona. U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Investigation Series I-844-H.
Warren, D.K., and R. M.Turner. 1975. Saltcedar (Tamarix chinensis) seed production, seedling establishment, and response to inundation. Journal Arizona Academy of Science 10(3):135-144.
Culler, R.C., R. M. Turner, and J. E. Jones. 1975. Water resources assessment, in R. G. Reeves (ed.), Manual of remote sensing. American Society of Photogrammetry, chap. 19, v. 2, p. 1479-1485.
Brown, D.E, N. B. Carmony, C. H. Lowe, and R. M. Turner. 1976. A second locality for native California fan palms (Washingtonia filifera) in Arizona. Journal Arizona Academy of Science 11(1):37-41.
Turner, R.M., 1976, Detection of short-term changes in vegetation of southern Arizona, in Williams, R.S., Jr., and Carter, W.D., Editors. ERTS-1 A new window in our planet. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 929, p. 246-248.
Martin, S.C., and R. M. Turner. 1977. Vegetation change in the Sonoran Desert region, Arizona and Sonora. Journal Arizona Academy of Science 12(2):59-69.
Brown, D.E., N. B. Carmony, and R. M. Turner. 1972. Drainage map of Arizona showing perennial streams and some important wetlands. Arizona Game and Fish Department, 1 sheet, scale 1:1,000,000.
Turner, R.M., 1977. Inventory of riparian habitats. U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service General Technical Report RM-43, p. 10-13.
Turner, R.M., 1978. Drainage map of Arizona showing perennial streams and some important wetlands. 2nd edition, Arizona Game and Fish Department, 1 sheet (both sides), scale 1:1,000,000.
Park, D. M., R. C. Culler, and R. M. Turner. 1978. Management of flood-plain vegetation, 1967 to 1972, San Carlos Indian Reservation, Arizona. U.S. Geological Survey Open-file Report 78-412, 21 p.
Turner, R.M., and M. M. Karpiscak. 1980. Recent vegetation changes along the Colorado River between Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Mead, Arizona. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1132, 125 p.
Turner, R.M., L. H. Applegate, P. M. Bergthold, S. Gallizioli, and S. C. Martin. 1980. Arizona Range Reference Areas. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service General Technical Report RM-79, 34 p.
Brown, D.E., N. B. Carmony, and R. M. Turner. 1981. Drainage map of Arizona showing perennial streams and some important wetlands. 3rd edition, Arizona Game and Fish Department, 1 sheet (both sides), scale 1:1,000,000.
Cooley, M.E., and R. M. Turner. 1982. Application of Landsat products in range- and water-management problems in the Sahelian Zone of Mali, Upper Volta, and Niger. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1058, 52 p.
Turner, R.M. 1982. Great Basin desertscrub, in D. E. Brown, (ed.), Biotic communities of the American Southwest--United States and Mexico. Desert Plants 4: 145-155.
Turner, R.M., 1982. Mohave desertscrub, in D. E. Brown, (ed.), Biotic communities of the American Southwest--United States and Mexico. Desert Plants 4:157-168.
Turner, R.M., and D. E. Brown. 1982. Sonoran desertscrub, in D. E. Brown (ed.), Biotic communities of the American Southwest--United States and Mexico. Desert Plants 4:181-221.
Culler, R.C., R. L. Hanson, R. M. Myrick, R. M. Turner, and F. P. Kipple. 1982. Evapotranspiration before and after clearing phreatophytes, Gila River flood plain, Graham County, Arizona. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 655-P, 52 p.
Rogers, G. F., H. E. Malde, and R. M. Turner. 1984. Bibliography of repeat photography for evaluating landscape change. University of Utah Press: Salt Lake City. 179 p.
Turner, R.M., and C. L. Busman. 1985. Vegetative key for identification of the woody legumes of the Sonoran Desert region. Desert Plants 6(4):189-202.
Bowers, J.E., and R. M. Turner. 1985. A revised vascular flora of Tumamoc Hill, Tucson, Arizona. Madroño 32(4,):225-252.
Davis, O.K., and R. M. Turner. 1986. Palynological evidence for the historic expansion of juniper and desert shrubs in Arizona, U.S.A. Review of Paleobotany and Palynology 49:177-193.
Goldberg, D.E., and R. M. Turner. 1986. Vegetation change and woody plant demography in permanent plots in the Sonoran Desert. Ecology 67:(3):695-712.
Webb, R.H., J. W. Steiger, and R. M Turner. 1987. Dynamics of Mohave Desert shrub assemblages in the Panamint Mountains. Ecology 68(3):478-490.
Betancourt, J.L., and R. M. Turner. 1988. Historic arroyo-cutting and subsequent channel changes at the Congress Street crossing, Santa Cruz River, Tucson, Arizona, in E. E. Whitehead, C. F. Hutchinson, B. N. Timmerman, and R. G. Varady (eds.), Arid lands, today and tomorrow, Proceedings of an International Research and Development Conference: Boulder, CO, Westview Press, in cooperation with Tucson, AZ, Office of Arid Lands Studies, University of Arizona, p. 1353-1371.
Turner, R.M., and J. E. Bowers. 1988. Long-term changes in populations of Carnegiea gigantea, exotic plant species and Cercidium floridum at the Desert Laboratory, Tumamoc Hill, Tucson, Arizona, in E. E. Whitehead, C. F. Hutchinson, B. N. Timmerman, and R. G. Varady (eds.), Arid lands, today and tomorrow, Proceedings of an International Research and Development Conference: Boulder, CO, Westview Press, in cooperation with Tucson, AZ, Office of Arid Lands Studies, University of Arizona, p. 445-455.
Turner, R.M., 1990. Long-term vegetation change at a fully protected Sonoran Desert site: Ecology 71(2):464-477.
Van Devender, T.R., T. L. Burgess, R. S. Felger, and R. M. Turner. 1990. Holocene vegetation of the Hornaday Mountains of northwestern Sonora, Mexico. Proceedings of the San Diego Society of Natural History, no. 2, p. 1-19.
Burgess, T.L., J. E. Bowers, and R. M. Turner. 1991. Exotic plants at the Desert Laboratory, Tucson, Arizona: Madroño 38(2):96-114.
Turner, R.M., 1992. Long-term saguaro population studies at Saguaro National Monument: In C. P. Stone and E. S. Bellantoni (eds.), Proceedings of the Symposium on Research in Saguaro National Monument. 23-24 January 1991, pp. 3-11.
Van Devender, T. R., T. L. Burgess, J. C. Piper, and R. M. Turner. 1994. Paleoclimatic implications of Holocene plant remains from the Sierra Bacha, Sonora, Mexico. Quaternary Research 41:99-108.
Turner, R. M., J. E. Bowers, and T. L. Burgess. 1995. Sonoran Desert Plants: An Ecological Atlas. The University of Arizona Press: Tucson. 504 pages.
Dickfoss, P. V., J. L. Betancourt, L. G. Thompson, R. M. Turner, and S. Tharnstrom. 1997. History of ice at Candelaria Ice Cave, New Mexico. New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources, Bull. 156:91-112.
Turner, R.M., H. A. Ochung, and J. B. Turner. 1998. Kenya's Changing Landscape. The University of Arizona Press: Tucson. 177 pages.
Pierson, E. A., and R. M. Turner. 1998. An 85-year study of saguaro (Carnegiea gigantea) demography. Ecology 79(8):2676-2693.
Bowers, J. E., and R. M. Turner. 2001. Dieback and episodic mortality of Cercidium microphyllum (foothill paloverde), dominant Sonoran Desert tree. Journal of the Torrey Botanical Society 128:128-140.
Bowers, J. E., and R. M. Turner. 2002. The influence of climatic variability on local population dynamics of Cercidium microphyllum (foothill paloverde). Oecologia 130:105-113.
Bowers, J. E., Q. Guo, R. M. Turner, and J. L. Betancourt. In press. A 95-year record of changes in richness, density, and cover of perennial plants on permanent plots in the Sonoran Desert, USA.
Turner, R. M., R. H. Webb, J. E. Bowers and J. R. Hastings. 2003. The Changing Mile Revisited. The University of Arizona Press: Tucson. 334 pages.