MEET THE TEAM

Professor John Turner is Head of the School of Ocean Sciences, and Dean of Postgraduate Research at Bangor University. John has a degree in Botany and Zoology from the University of Bristol and a doctorate in marine symbiosis from University of Oxford (St John’s College). He moved to a NERC funded postdoctoral position at Bangor University in 1985, to investigate fish behaviour and ecology before taking up lectureship in School of Ocean Sciences in Marine Biology. John developed and led the international MSc in Marine Environmental Protection for 22 years, and has over 30 years of experience in a wide range of projects involving coastal habitat survey, Marine Protected Areas, Environmental Impact Assessment, and Integrated Coastal Zone in a wide range of countries and contexts. He held a visiting lectureship at the University of Mauritius in the 1990s. His research has focused on coral reefs of the UK Overseas Territories but not exclusively, and research strategy is driven by the need to protect marine environments largely through the establishment and monitoring of Marine Protected Areas, or the use of tools such as Environmental Impact Assessment and Coastal Zone Management, often to comply with the major conventions (e.g. Convention on Biological Diversity CBD, Convention on Migratory Species CMS, Convention on Trade in Endangered Species CITES, RAMSAR Convention on wetlands, and EU Habitats Directive). Research is developed in partnership (e.g. British Indian Ocean Territory Government Section of Foreign and Commonwealth Office; Cayman Islands Government; Seychelles Island Foundation; The Nature Conservancy, USA) and through liaison with stakeholder organisations (e.g. UK Overseas Territories Conservation Forum, BIOT Scientific Advisory Panel, Chagos Conservation Trust, Sea Watch Foundation, UNESCO, UNDP-GEF)) and implemented through practical research involving scientific diving operations, training, stakeholder consultations and outreach initiatives, often including placement of Project Support Officers to build capacity within organisations. Recent major funding for his research comes from DEFRA, Darwin Initiative, and Bertarelli Foundation.