Publications

2020 PNAS Cover
(Links to PDFs for open access journals; PDFs here are intended for single copy, research use only, to comply with copyright regulations)
  1. Gilbertson, M.L.J., A.C. Ketz, M.A. Hunsaker, D.P. Walsh, D.J. Storm, W.C. Turner. In press. White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) habitat use and implications for chronic wasting disease transmission, Wildlife Monographs.
  2. Draper, J.P., E.E. Brandell, J. Isabelle, C. Jacques, C. McCoy, E. Michel, D.J. Storm, C. Ott-Conn, B. Wojcik, W.C. Turner, and D.P. Walsh. Doe diligence: A regional analysis of antlerless deer harvest regulations in the Midwestern United States of America. Manuscript under review.
  3. Hunsaker, M., M.L.J. Gilbertson, D.J. Storm, W.C. Turner. The breeding season and movement ecology of male white-tailed deer in southwest Wisconsin. Manuscript under review.
  4. Mokgokong, S.P., A. Hassim, T. Mafuna, W.C. Turner, H. van Heerden, K.E. Lekota. Comparative genomics of Bacillus anthracis A and B-clades reveals genetic variation in genes responsible for spore germination. Manuscript under revision.
  5. Hoff, S. K.E. Langwig, J.R. Hoyt, L. Johnson, E. Olsen, D. O’Dell, C.J. Pendergast, C.J. Herzog, J.T. Foster, K.L. Parise, W.C. Turner. 2025. The importance of peripheral populations in the face of novel environmental change. Proceedings of the Royal Society B – Biological Sciencess, 292: 20242331. Open Access
  6. Cossu, C.A., Ochai, S., Troskie, M., Hartmann, A., Godfroid, J., de Klerk, L.-M., Turner, W.C., Kamath, P.L., van Schalkwyk, L. O., Cassini, R., Bhoora, R., van Heerden, H. 2024. Detection of tick-borne pathogen coinfections and coexposures to foot-and-mouth disease, brucellosis and Q fever in selected wildlife from Kruger National Park, South Africa, and Etosha National Park, Namibia, Transboundary and Emerging Diseases, 2417717. Open Access
  7. Kabengele, K., W.C. Turner, P.E. Turner, C.B. Ogbunugafor. 2024. A meta-analysis highlights the idiosyncratic nature of trade-offs in laboratory models of virus evolution. Virus Evolution, veae105. Open Access
  8. Ochai, S.O., L. Snyman, A.C. Dolfi, A. Ramoelo, B.K. Reilly, J.M. Botha, P.L. Kamath, E. Archer, W.C. Turner, H. van Heerden. 2024. The roles of host and environment in shift of primary anthrax host species in Kruger National Park, PLOS ONE, 19(12): e0314103. Open Access
  9. Ochai, S.O., A. Hassim, E.H. Dekker, T. Magome, E. Lekota, S.M. Makgabo, L.-M. de Klerk-Loris, O.L. van Schalkwyk, P.L. Kamath, W.C. Turner, H. van Heerden. 2024. Comparing microbiological and molecular diagnostic tools for the surveillance of anthrax. PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 18(11): e0012122. Open Access
  10. Gilbertson, M.L.J., L.J. Long, H.N. Inzalaco, W.C. Turner, D.J. Storm. 2024. Effective field sampling of rectoanal mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue for antemortem chronic wasting disease testing in white-tailed deer, Journal of Wildlife Diseases, 60(4):996-1003. Open Access
  11. Hoff, S., B.A. Mosher, M. Watson, L. Johnson, E. Olson, D. O’Dell, C.J. Pendergast, D.A. Bogan, C.J. Herzog and W.C. Turner. 2024. Widespread occupancy of the Endangered northern myotis on Northeastern Atlantic Coastal Plain islands, Endangered Species Research, 54:141-153. Open Access
  12. Prentice, M.B., M.L.J. Gilbertson, D.J. Storm, W.C. Turner, D.P. Walsh, M.E. Pinkerton, P.L Kamath. 2024. Metagenomic sequencing sheds light on microbes putatively associated with pneumonia-related fatalities of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus). Microbial Genomics, 10:001214. Open Access
  13. Dolfi, A., K. Kausrud, K. Rysava, C. Champagne, Y-H Huang, Z.R. Barandongo, W.C. Turner. 2024. Season of death, pathogen persistence and wildlife behavior alter number of anthrax secondary infections from environmental reservoirs. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 291: 20232568. Open Access
  14. Inzalaco, H.N., E.E. Brandell, S. Wilson, M. Hunsaker, D.R. Stahler, K. Woelfel, D.P. Walsh, T. Nordeen, D.J. Storm, S.S. Lichtenberg, W.C. Turner. 2024. Detection of prions from spiked and free-ranging carnivore feces, Scientific Reports, 14: 3804. Open Access
  15. Hoff, S., C.J. Pendergast, L. Johnson, E. Olson, D. O’Dell, Z. Dowling, K.M. Gorman, C. Herzog and W.C. Turner. 2024. Seasonal roost characterization and fall behavior of coastal northern myotis (Myotis septentrionalis) populations, Journal of Mammalogy, 105:277-288.Open Access
  16. Ochai, S.O., J.E. Crafford, P.L. Kamath, W.C. Turner, H. van Heerden. 2023. Development of conjugated secondary antibodies for wildlife disease surveillance. Frontiers in Immunology. Open Access
  17. Inzalaco, H.N., F. Bravo Risi, R. Morales, D.P. Walsh, D.J. Storm, W.C. Turner, S.S. Lichtenberg. 2023. Ticks harbor and excrete chronic wasting disease prions, Scientific Reports, 13:7838. Open Access
  18. Huang, Y.-H., N. Owen-Smith, M.D. Henley, J.W. Kilian, P.L. Kamath, S.O. Ochai, H. van Heerden, J.K.E. Mfune, W.M. Getz and W.C. Turner. 2023. Variation in herbivore space use: comparing two savanna ecosystems with different anthrax outbreak patterns in southern Africa. Movement Ecology. Open Access
  19. Barandongo, Z.R. A.C. Dolfi, Y-H. Huang, K. Rysava, S.A. Bruce, P.L. Kamath, H. van Heerden and W.C. Turner. 2023. The persistence of time: the lifespan of Bacillus anthracis spores in environmental reservoirs. Research in Microbiology. Open Access
  20. Gilbertson, M.L.J., A. Ketz, M. Hunsaker, D. Jarosinski, W. Ellarson, D.P. Walsh, D.J. Storm, W.C. Turner. 2022. Agricultural land use shapes dispersal in white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), Movement Ecology, 10,43. Open Access
  21. Brandell, E.E., D.J. Storm, T.R. Van Deelen, D.P. Walsh, W.C. Turner. A call to action: standardizing white-tailed deer harvest data in the Midwestern United States and implications for quantitative analysis and disease management Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 10:943411. Open Access
  22. Turner, W.C., S. Périquet, C.E. Goelst, K. Vera, E.Z. Cameron, K.A. Alexander, J.L. Belant, C.C. Cloete, P. du Preez, W.M. Getz, R.S. Hetem, P.L. Kamath, M. Kasaona, M. Mackenzie, J. Mendelsohn, J.K.E. Mfune, J.R. Muntifering, R. Portas, H.A. Scott, W. M. Strauss, W. Versfeld, B. Wachter, G. Wittemyer, and J.W. Kilian. 2022. Africa’s drylands in a changing world: Challenges for wildlife conservation under climate and land-use changes in the Greater Etosha Landscape, Global Ecology and Conservation, 38: e02221. Open Access
  23. Dougherty, E.R., D.P. Seidel, J.K. Blackburn, W.C. Turner, W.M Getz. 2022. A framework for integrating inferred movement behavior into disease risk models, Movement Ecology, 10(1): 1-15. Open Access
  24. Gilbertson, M.L.J., E.E. Brandell, M. Pinkerton, N. Meaux, M. Hunsaker, D. Jarosinski, W. Ellarson, D.P. Walsh, D.J. Storm, W.C. Turner. 2022. Cause of death, pathology, and chronic wasting disease status of white-tailed deer mortalities in Wisconsin, Journal of Wildlife Diseases, Open Access
  25. Huang, Y.-H., K.L. Kausrud, A. Hassim, S.O. Ochai, O.L. van Schalkwyk, E.H. Dekker, A. Buyantuyev, C.C. Cloete, J.W. Kilian, P.L. Kamath, H. van Heerden, and W.C. Turner. 2022. Environmental drivers of biseasonal anthrax outbreak dynamics in two multi-host savanna ecosystems. Ecological Monographs, e1526. Open Access
  26. Ochai, S.O., J. Crafford, A. Hassim, C. Byaruhanga, Y.-H. Huang, A. Hartmann, E.H. Dekker, O.L. van Schalkwyk, P.L. Kamath, W.C. Turner, and H. van Heerden. 2022. Immunological evidence of variation in exposure and immune response to Bacillus anthracis in herbivores of Kruger and Etosha National Parks. Frontiers in Immunology, 13: 814031. Open Access
  27. Turner, W.C., P.L. Kamath, H. van Heerden, Z. Barandongo, Y.-H. Huang, S.A. Bruce and K. Kausrud. 2021. The roles of environmental variation and parasite survival in virulence-transmission relationships. Royal Society Open Science, 8: 210088. Open Access
  28. Huang, Y.-H., H. Joel, M. Küsters, Z.R. Barandongo, C.C. Cloete, A. Hartmann, P.L. Kamath, J.W. Kilian, J.K.E. Mfune, G. Shatumbu, R. Zidon, W.M. Getz and W.C. Turner. 2021. Disease or drought: environmental fluctuations release zebra from a potential pathogen-triggered ecological trap. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, Biological Sciences, 288: 20210582. Open Access
  29. Stears, K., M.H. Schmitt, W.C. Turner, D.J. McCauley, E.A. Muse, H. Kiwango, D. Matheyo and B.M. Mutayoba. 2021. Hippopotamus movements structure the spatiotemporal dynamics of an active anthrax outbreak. Ecosphere, 12(6):e03540. Open Access
  30. Bruce, S.A., Y-H. Huang, P.L. Kamath, H. van Heerden and W.C. Turner. 2021. The roles of antimicrobial resistance, phage diversity, isolation source and selection in shaping the genomic architecture of Bacillus anthracis. Microbial Genomics, 7:000616. Open Access
  31. Starkloff, N.C., W.C. Turner, A.M. Fitzgerald, M.C. Oftedal, E. Martinsen and J.J. Kirchman. 2021. Disentangling the effects of host relatedness and elevation on haemosporidian parasite turnover in a clade of songbirds. Ecosphere, 12(5): e03497. Open Access
  32. Gomez, L., V.A. Meszaro, W.C. Turner, C.B. Ogbunugafor. 2020. The epidemiological signature of pathogen populations that vary in the relationship between free-living survival and virulence. Viruses, 12(9):1055.   Open Access
  33. Starkloff, N.C., A.W. Jones, B.M. Winger, Y.-H. Huang, P.C. Pulgarín-R, J.J. Kirchman, and W.C. Turner. 2020. Drivers of community turnover differ between avian haemoparasite genera along a North American latitudinal gradient. Ecology and Evolution. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.6283
  34. Easterday, W.R., J.M. Poncianco, J.P. Gomez, M. Van Ert, T. Hadfield, K.H. Bagamian, J.K. Blackburn, N.C. Stenseth, and W.C. Turner. 2020. Coalescence modeling of intra-infection Bacillus anthracis populations allows estimation of infection parameters in wild populations. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA, 117 (8) 4273-4280.  https://www.pnas.org/content/117/8/4273
  35. Bruce, S.A., N. Schiraldi, W.R. Easterday, P.L. Kamath, and W.C. Turner. 2020. A classification framework for Bacillus anthracis defined by global genomic structure. Evolutionary Applications, 7: 000616. Open Access
  36. Blackburn, J.A., H.H. Ganz, J. M. Ponciano, W.C. Turner, S.J. Ryan, P.L. Kamath, C.A. Cizauskas, K. Kausrud, R.D. Holt, N.C. Stenseth, W.M. Getz. 2019. Modeling R0 for pathogens with environmental transmission: animal movements, pathogen populations, and local infectious zones. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16: 954, https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/16/6/954.
  37. Fitak, R.R., J. Antonides, E. Baitchman, E. Bonaccorsco, J. Braun, E. Chiu, R. Dusek, A. Fagre, D. Forgacs, N. Fountain-Jones, C. Funk, E. Gagne, B.M. Ghersi, M. Gilbertson, W. Grimaldi, S. Heisel, C. Jardine, P. Kamath, D. Karmacharya, C. Kozakiewicz, S. Kraberger, S. Kubiski, J. Lee, D. Loisel, J. Malmberg, C. McDonald, S. Miller, D. O`Rourke, C. Ott-Conn, M. Paez, A. Peel, M. Stenglein, J. Strecker, D.R. Trumbo, W.C. Turner, M. VanAcker, S. VandeWoude, K. Worsley-Tonks, J. Pecon-Slattery. 2019. The expectations and challenges of wildlife disease research in the era of genomics: forecasting with a horizon scan-like exercise. Journal of Heredity, 110(3):261-274., https://academic.oup.com/jhered/article/110/3/261/5288600.
  38. De Vos, V., H. van Heerden, and W.C. Turner. 2018. Anthrax. In: Infectious Diseases of Livestock. 3rd edition. Coetzer J.A.W., Thomson, G.R., Maclachlan, N.J. and M.-L. Penrith (editors). Anipedia, http://www.anipedia.org/resources/anthrax/1203.
  39. Carlson, C.J., K.L. Kausrud, C.A. Cizauskas, J.K. Blackburn, F.A.B. Carrillo, R.R. Colwell, W.R. Easterday, H.H., Ganz, P.L. Kamath, O.A.L. Økstad, W.C. Turner, A.-B. Kolstø, N.C. Stenseth, and W.M. Getz. 2018. Spores and soil from six sides: interdisciplinarity and the environmental biology of anthrax (Bacillus anthracis), Biological Reviews, https://doi.org/10.1111/brv.12420
  40. Caraco, T. & W.C. Turner. 2018. Environmentally transmitted disease under stage structured infectiousness: killers and vaccinators, Journal of Theoretical Biology, 436: 51-63. 10.1016/j.jtbi.2017.09.029
  41. Barandongo, Z.B., J.K.E. Mfune, & W.C. Turner. 2018. Dust bathing behaviors of African herbivores and the potential risk of inhalational anthrax. Journal of Wildlife Diseases, 54(1): 34-44 Open Access
  42. Valseth, K., C.L. Nesbø, W.R. Easterday, W.C. Turner, J.S. Olsen, N.C. Stenseth, T.H.A. Haverkamp. 2017. Temporal dynamics in soil microbial communities at anthrax carcass sites, BMC Microbiology, 17:206. Open Access
  43. Turner W.C., M. Küsters, W. Versfeld & I. Horak. 2017. Ixodid tick diversity on wild mammals, birds, and reptiles in and around Etosha National Park, Namibia. African Journal of Ecology, 55: 714-721. 10.1111/aje.12369
  44. Valseth, K., C.L. Nesbø, W.R. Easterday, W.C. Turner, J.S. Olsen, N.C. Stenseth, T.H.A. Haverkamp. 2016. Draft genome sequences of two Bacillus anthracis strains from Etosha National Park, Namibia. Genome Announcements4(4):e00861-16. Open Access
  45. Turner, W.C., B.L. Penzhorn and W.M. Getz. 2016. Description of 3 new species of Eimeria (Apicomplexa: Eimeriidae) from springbok (Antidorcas marsupialis) in Namibia. Comparative Parasitology, 83(2): 202-211.
  46. Turner, W. C., Kausrud, K. L., Beyer, W., Easterday, W. R., Barandongo, Z. R., Blaschke, E., Cloete, C. C., Lazak, J., Van Ert, M. N., Ganz, H. H., Turnbull, P. C. B., Stenseth, N. C. and Getz, W. M. 2016. Lethal exposure: An integrated approach to pathogen transmission via environmental reservoirs. Scientific Reports, 6, Article number: 27311 Open Access
  47. Cizauskas, C.A., W.C. Turner, N.I. Pitts, W.M. Getz. 2015. Seasonal patterns of hormones, macroparasites and microparasites in wild African ungulates: the interplay between stress, reproduction and disease. PLoS ONE, 10(4): e0120800 Open Access
  48. Cizauskas, C. A., W.C. Turner, B. Wagner, M. Küsters, R.E. Vance, W.M. Getz. 2014. Gastrointestinal helminths may affect host susceptibility to anthrax through seasonal immune trade-offs. BMC Ecology, 14:27 Open Access
  49. Turner, W.C., K.L. Kausrud, Y.S. Krishnappa, J.P.G.M. Cromsigt, H.H. Ganz, I. Mapaure, C.C. Cloete, Z. Havarua, M. Küsters, W.M. Getz, N.C. Stenseth. 2014. Fatal attraction: vegetation responses to nutrient inputs attract herbivores to infectious anthrax carcass sites. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences., 281: 20141785.
  50. Krishnappa, Y.S. & W.C. Turner. 2014. Software for minimalistic data management in large camera trap studies. Ecological Informatics, 24:11-16.
  51. Ganz, H.H., W.C. Turner, E.L. Brodie, M. Küsters, Y. Shi, H. Sibanda, T. Torok and W.M. Getz. 2014. Interactions between Bacillus anthracis and plants may promote anthrax transmission. PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 8(6): e2903. Open Access
  52. Kamath, P.L., W.C. Turner, M. Küsters, & W.M. Getz. 2014. Parasite-mediated selection drives an immunogenetic trade-off in plains zebra (Equus quagga). Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 281: 20140077.
  53. Havarua, Z., W.C. Turner, J.K.E. Mfune. 2014. Seasonal variation in foraging behavior of plains zebras (Equus quagga) may alter contact with the anthrax bacterium (Bacillus anthracis). Canadian Journal of Zoology, 92: 331-337.
  54. Cizauskas, C.A., S.E. Bellan, W.C. Turner, R.E. Vance, W.M. Getz. 2014. Frequent and seasonally variable sublethal anthrax infections are accompanied by short-lived immunity in an endemic system. Journal of Animal Ecology, 83: 1078-1090.
  55. Lyons, A., W.C. Turner, W.M. Getz. 2013. Home range plus: A space-time characterization of movement over real landscapes, Movement Ecology, 1:2.
  56. Turner, W.C., P. Imologhome, Z. Havarua, G.P. Kaaya, J.K.E. Mfune, I.D.T. Mpofu & W.M. Getz. 2013. Soil ingestion, nutrition and the seasonality of anthrax in herbivores of Etosha National Park, Ecosphere, 4(1):13.
  57. Beyer, W., S. Bellan, G. Eberle, H.H. Ganz, W.M. Getz, R. Haumacher, K.A. Hilss, W. Kilian, J. Lazak, W.C. Turner, P.C.B. Turnbull. 2012. Distribution and molecular evolution of Bacillus anthracis genotypes in Namibia, PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 6(3): e1534.
  58. Turner, W.C., W.D. Versfeld, J.W. Kilian & W.M. Getz.  2012.  Synergistic effects of seasonal rainfall, parasites and demography on fluctuations in springbok body condition. Journal of Animal Ecology, 81: 58-69.
  59. Thurber, M., C.E. O’Connell-Rodwell, W.C. Turner, K. Nambandi, C. Kinzley, T. Rodwell, C.T. Faulkner, S.A. Felt, D.M. Bouley. 2011. Effects of rainfall, host demography and musth on strongyle fecal egg counts in African elephants (Loxodonta africana) in Namibia, Journal of Wildlife Diseases 47(1):172-181
  60. Turner, W.C. & W.M. Getz. 2010. Seasonal and demographic factors influencing gastrointestinal parasitism in ungulates of Etosha National Park, Journal of Wildlife Diseases 46(4):1108-1119.
  61. Turner, W.C., C.A. Cizauskas, & W.M. Getz. 2010. Variation in fecal water content may bias quantitative estimates of parasite intensity in wild African herbivores, Journal of Helminthology 84:99-105.
  62. Jolles, A.E., V.O. Ezenwa, R.S. Etienne, W.C. Turner, & H. Olff. 2008. Interactions between macroparasites and microparasites drive patterns of infection in free-ranging African buffalo, Ecology 89(8):2239-2250.
  63. Clegg, S. & Wildlife Anthrax Epizootic Workshop Working Group1. 2006. Preparedness for anthrax epizootics in wildlife areas [conference summary]. Emerging Infectious Diseases. Available from http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol12no07/06-0458.htm. Open Access
    1 Working Group: W. Amanfu, R. Bengis, W. Beyer, C. Cizauskas, B. Clegg, S. Clegg, V. de Vos, H. Ebedes, C. Foggin, S. Hargreaves, M. Hofmeyr, A. Kaufmann, M. Kock, R. Kock, F. Leendertz, R. Leuenberger, P. Lindeque, N. Marano, P. Morkel, C. Pereira, P. Turnbull, W. Turner, & C. Wenham
  64. Turner, W.C., A.E. Jolles, & N. Owen-Smith. 2005. Alternating sexual segregation during the mating season by male African buffalo (Syncerus caffer), Journal of Zoology, London 267:291-299.

Software

  • Aardwolf is an open source software program for management of camera trap data in ecological studies. Its intended users are ecologists, biologists and others who use a large number of cameras to study wildlife (or anything else) and need a software program to efficiently tag photographs and extract metadata. Binaries. Source code.

Dissertation/Thesis

  • Turner, W.C. 2009. The ecology of orally ingested parasites in ungulates of Etosha National Park. Ph.D. Dissertation, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California, U.S.A.
  • Turner, W.C. 2003. Activity patterns of male African buffalo. M.Sc. Thesis, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.

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