Senior Research Scientist
Coral Biologist
Ecotoxicologist
Role
Background
I completed my PhD at James Cook University (1992-1996), and then postdoctoral fellowships at The University of Sydney (ARC fellowship 1996-2000) and at The University of Queensland (ARC-Industry fellowship 2000-2004). During these periods, I researched the response of the coral-algal symbiosis to altered environmental conditions including heat, light and osmotic stress, and in response to xenobiotics such as herbicides, copper, cyanide & effluent from the offshore oil and gas industry. In 2004 I took up a position in Bermuda at the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences (BIOS) where I was Principal Investigator of the government funded Marine Environmental Program. This involved designing and implementing various long-term monitoring programs (water quality, seawater temperature, ecological surveys), as well as ecotoxicological studies and surveys of contaminant concentrations. In 2009, I returned to Australia to take up my present position at AIMS-WA in Perth.
Education
- 1988: BSC (Joint honours) Oceanography with Biology, Southampton University, UK
- 1995: PhD James Cook University, Townsville, Australia
Current Research Activities
My major research interest is the biology of the coral-algal symbiosis and understanding and quantifying how the relationship changes during conditions of altered environmental conditions (natural and anthropogenic). I am involved in developing ways to examine and quantify the condition of corals in both laboratory-based setting (i.e. for determining water quality criteria for reefal ecosystems) and in the field (i.e. examining dredging or construction-related activity, or point/diffuse source pollution). I am particularly interested in developing water quality criteria for coral reef environments for sediments, metals and pesticides.
Expert Committees and Boards
Western Australian Marine Science Institution (WAMSI) Dredging Science Node Leader (Science)
Member of the Dredging Technical Advice Panel (DTAP) for the Chevron Wheatstone Project
Member of the Dredging Technical Advice Panel (DTAP) for the Chevron Wheatstone Project
Publications
Over 50 science and technical papers in international journals. The following are a selection of recent publications:
Jones, Johnson, Noyes, Parsons (2012) Spatial and temporal patterns of coral black band disease in relation to a major sewage outfall. Marine Ecology Progress Series 462:79-92.
Jones (2011a) Environmental effects of the cruise tourism boom: sediment resuspension from cruise ships and the possible effects of increased turbidity and sediment deposition on corals (Bermuda). Bull.Mar.Sci. 87: 659-679
Jones (2011b) Spatial patterns of chemical contamination (metals, PAHs, PCBs, PCDDs/PCDFS) in sediments of a non-industrialized but densely populated coral atoll/small island state (Bermuda) Mar.Pollut.Bull. 62:1362-1376
Kuehl, Jones, Gibbs, Richardson (2011) The roles of temperature and light in black band disease (BBD) progression on corals of the genus Diploria in Bermuda. J.Invert.Path.106:366-370
Jones, Parsons, Watkinson, Kendell (2011) Sewage contamination of a densely populated coral atoll (Bermuda). Environ.Monit.Assess.
Jones (2010) Environmental contamination associated with a marine landfill ('seafill') beside a coral reef. Mar.Pollut.Bull.60:1993-2006
Yost, Jones, Mitchelmore (2010) Alterations in dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) levels in the coral Montastraea franksi in response to copper exposure. Aquat.Toxicol.98:367-373
Venn, Quinn, Jones, Bodnar (2009) P-glycoprotein (multi-xenobiotic resistance) and heat shock protein gene expression in the reef coral Montastraea franksi in response to environmental toxicants. Aquat.Toxicol.93:188-195
Jones (2008) Coral bleaching, bleaching-induced mortality, and the adaptive significance of the bleaching response. Mar.Biol.154:65-80
Jones (2005) The ecotoxicological effects of Photosystem II herbicides on corals. Mar.Pollut.Bull.51:495-506
Jones, Bowyer, Hoegh-Guldberg, Blackall (2004) Dynamics of a thermal epizootic in coral on the Great Barrier Reef. MEPS.281:63-77
Jones (2004) Testing the Photoinhibition model of coral bleaching using chemical inhibitors. MEPS.284:133-145
Jones, Heyward (2003) The effects of Produced Formation Water (PFW), an effluent from the offshore oil and gas industry, on coral and isolated symbiotic dinoflagellates. Mar.Freshwater.Res.54:1-10
Jones, Muller, Haynes, Schreiber (2003) The effects of the herbicides diuron and atrazine on corals of the Great Barrier Reef. MEPS.251:153-167
Hoegh-Guldberg, Jones, Ward, Loh (2002) Ecology - Is coral bleaching really adaptive? Nature.415:601-602
