Prof Geoff Jones is a well-established scientist in the fields of marine ecology and tropical marine conservation, with 30 years of experience in ecological research, undergraduate teaching and graduate supervision.  He has published a career total of ~200 refereed papers since 1980, mostly on the ecology, behaviour and conservation of marine fishes on tropical coral reefs and in temperate kelp forests. He supervised a career total of 113 research students to completion (including 50 BSc honours, 31 MSc and 32 PhD students) and hosted 13 post-doctoral research fellows.  His undergraduate teaching record includes over 1,000 students that have completed his 3rd year BSc “Marine Conservation Biology” class.

Over the past 10 years, he has focussed on two key aspects of the ecology of reef fishes that directly inform conservation strategies. In each of these fields, his teams have been responsible for developing new technologies that are changing our views on fundamental aspects reef fish ecology.

The first research topic centres on direct estimates of larval dispersal using genetic parentage analysis, and the significance of self-recruitment and connectivity for meta-population dynamics and the design of marine reserve networks. The second research topic focusses on population and community responses of reef fishes to changes in habitat structure, with particular reference to coral cover, coral diversity and habitat complexity.

His team's experimental work has exposed a high level of sophistication in the ability of reef fish to discriminate among habitats, a previously undiscovered level of species-specific interaction among fish and corals, and the extraordinary extinction risk associated with the declining health of coral reef habitats. 

Teaching

• MB3200: Marine Conservation Biology (Level 3; TSV)
• MB5004: Marine Conservation Biology (Level 5; TSV)
• MB5300: Sampling and Experimental Design (Level 5; TSV)

Interests

Research

• Ecology and behaviour of coral reef fishes
• Marine conservation biology
• Ecology and behaviour of kelp forest fishes
• Human impacts on tropical ecosystems
• Management of tropical marine ecosystems

Experience

• 2006 to 2013 - Professor, James Cook University (Townsville)
• 1999 to 2005 - Reader, James Cook University (Townsville)
• 1994 to 1998 - Senior Lecturer, James Cook University (Townsville)
• 1992 to 1993 - Lecturer, James Cook University (Townsville)
• 1987 to 1991 - Lecturer, University of Auckland
• 1986 to 1987 - National Research Fellow, University of Sydney
• 1983 to 1986 - Queen's Fellow in Marine Science, University of Sydney
• 1981 to 1983 - Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of Melbourne

These are the most recent publications associated with this author. To see a detailed profile of all publications stored at JCU, visit ResearchOnline@JCU. Hover over Altmetrics badges to see social impact.

Journal Articles

• Bode M, Williamson D, Weeks R, Jones G, Almany G, Harrison H, Hopf J and Pressey R (2016) Planning marine reserve networks for both feature representation and demographic persistence using connectivity patterns. PLoS ONE, 11 (5). pp. 1-23
• Bonin M, Saenz-Agudelo P, Harrison H, Nanninga G, van der Meer M, Mansour H, Perumal S, Jones G and Berumen M (2016) Characterization and cross-amplification of microsatellite markers in four species of anemonefish (Pomacentridae, Amphiprion spp.). Marine Biodiversity, 46 (1). pp. 135-140
• Bonin M, Harrison H, Williamson D, Frisch A, Saenz-Agudelo P, Berumen M and Jones G (2016) The role of marine reserves in the replenishment of a locally impacted population of anemonefish on the Great Barrier Reef. Molecular Ecology, 25 (2). pp. 487-499
• Coppock A, Gardiner N and Jones G (2016) Sniffing out the competition? Juvenile coral reef damselfishes use chemical cues to distinguish the presence of conspecific and heterospecific aggregations. Behavioural Processes, 125. pp. 43-50
• Coppock A, Gardiner N and Jones G (2016) Olfactory responses of coral-reef fishes to coral degradation and crown-of-thorns (Acanthaster planci). Marine and Freshwater Research, 67 (5). pp. 605-611
• Finn M, Lönnstedt O, Rizzari J, Jones G and Frisch A (2016) Experimental bleaching of a tropical sea anemone insitu. Marine Ecology, 37 (3). pp. 691-696
• Gardiner N and Jones G (2016) Habitat specialisation, site fidelity and sociality predict homing success in coral reef cardinalfish. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 558. pp. 81-96
• Herrera M, Nanninga G, Planes S, Jones G, Thorrold S, Saenz-Agudelo P, Almany G and Berumen M (2016) Seascape and life-history traits do not predict self-recruitment in a coral reef fish. Biology Letters, 12 (8). pp. 1-4
• Hopf J, Jones G, Williamson D and Connolly S (2016) Fishery consequences of marine reserves: short-term pain for longer-term gain. Ecological Applications, 26 (3). pp. 818-829
• Hopf J, Jones G, Williamson D and Connolly S (2016) Synergistic effects of marine reserves and harvest controls on the abundance and catch dynamics of a coral reef fishery. Current Biology, 26 (12). pp. 1543-1548
• MacDonald C, Bridge T and Jones G (2016) Depth, bay position and habitat structure as determinants of coral reef fish distributions: are deep reefs a potential refuge? Marine Ecology - Progress Series, 561. pp. 217-231
• Roberts M, Jones G, McCormick M, Munday P, Neale S, Thorrold S, Robitzch V and Berumen M (2016) Homogeneity of coral reef communities across 8 degrees of latitude in the Saudi Arabian Red Sea. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 105 (2). pp. 558-565

More

ResearchOnline@JCU stores 193+ research outputs authored by Prof Geoff Jones from 1991 onwards.

Current and recent Research Funding to JCU is shown by funding source and project.

Advisory Accreditation: I can be on your Advisory Panel as a Primary or Secondary Advisor.

These Higher Degree Research projects are either current or by students who have completed their studies within the past 5 years at JCU. Linked titles show theses available within ResearchOnline@JCU.

Current

• An Assessment of Tongan Coral Reefs: Ecosystem Health, Current MPA Efficacy and the Development of a Clearly Defined LMMA System (PhD , Primary Advisor)
• Determinants of depth-gradients in the distribution, movement, Resource use and body condition of coral-feeding butterflyfishes (PhD , Primary Advisor)
• Connectivity and Ecological Processes on Small Non-Emergent Offshore Pinnacles; Reef Fish Ecology and Implications for Marine Reserve Network Design (PhD , Primary Advisor)
• Assessment of the effects of boat noise on coral reef fish in their larval stage (PhD , Secondary Advisor)
• Causes and Consequences of Spatially Non-Random Feeding in a Territorial Excavating Parrotfish, Chlorurus microrhinos. (PhD , Primary Advisor)
• The Influence of Multiple Habitat Types on No Take Marine Researve Performance, Fish Community Structure, and Demographics of Important Fishery Species (PhD , Secondary Advisor)
• Coral Depth Zonation: Its Nature and Significance. (PhD , Secondary Advisor)
• Marine Chemistry (Masters , Primary Advisor)
• Latitudinal Demography Based Assessment of Three Large Predatory Reef Fishes (Lutjanus sebae, Lutjanus malabaricus and Lutjanus erythropterus) (Masters , Secondary Advisor)
• The Role of Hybridisation in the Evolution of Coral Reef Fishes (PhD , Secondary Advisor)

Completed

• Effects of climate change-induced thermal stress and habitat degradation to the biodiversity and species composition of coral-associated invertebrates (2016, PhD , Primary Advisor)
• Habitat degradation and competition for resources in coral reef fishes (2016, PhD , Primary Advisor)
• Small cryptic fishes on coral reefs: ecological effects of extreme life history traits (2016, Masters , Secondary Advisor)
• The role of boldness and other personality traits in the ecology of juvenile marine fishes (2015, PhD , Secondary Advisor)
• Relationships among depth distributions, habitat specialisation and demography in coral reef fish communities (2015, PhD , Primary Advisor)
• Trophic impact of large predators on coral reefs and management implications (2015, PhD , Associate Advisor)
• The ecological role of sediments on coral reefs (2014, PhD , Secondary Advisor)
• Predator-Prey Interactions and the Importance of Sensory Cues in our Changing World. (2014, PhD , Secondary Advisor)
• Determinants of resource specialisation and its ecological consequences for the corallivorous filefish, Oxymonacanthus longirostris (2014, PhD , Primary Advisor)
• Determinants of home range and territory size in coral reef fishes (2014, PhD , Primary Advisor)
• Effects of ocean warming on the larval development of coral reef fishes (2014, PhD , Primary Advisor)
• Making Sense Scents: Olfactory Discrimination in Juvenile Coral Reef Fish. (2014, Masters , Primary Advisor)
• Coming, going, gone?: Population connectivity and extinction risk in restricted range coral reef fishes on isolated islands (2013, PhD , Secondary Advisor)
• Suspended sediment and its effects on the behavior and physiology of coral reef fishes (2013, PhD , Primary Advisor)
• Genetic parentage analysis as a tool for measuring larval connectivity in a network of marine reserves (2013, PhD , Primary Advisor)
• The role of chemical alarm cues in risk assessment and predator recognition in coral reef fishes (2012, PhD , Secondary Advisor)
• Recruitment hotspots in the ecology and management of large predatory fishes on coral reefs (2012, PhD , Primary Advisor)
• The short- & long-term implications of marine reserves for fisheries on coral reefs (2016, PhD , Secondary Advisor)
• Energetics of habitat use in planktivorous coral reef fishes: does specialization confer sensitivity to changing environmental conditions? (2012, PhD , Primary Advisor)
• Social relationships in a small habitat-dependent coral reef fish: an ecological, behavioural and genetic analysis (2016, PhD , Secondary Advisor)
• Competition and habitat selection in coral-dwelling fishes (2016, PhD , Secondary Advisor)
• Effects of temperature and food availability on the antipredator behaviour of juvenile coral reef fishes (2016, PhD , Secondary Advisor)
• Priority effects and the dynamics of coral reef fish assemblages (2016, PhD , Secondary Advisor)
• Habitat Preferences and Associations of Juvenile Algal-associated Fishes on Coral Reefs (2017, Masters , Primary Advisor)
• Controlling mesopredators: importance of behavioural interactions in trophic cascades (2017, PhD , Secondary Advisor)
• Coral Reef Mesopredator Trophodynamics in Response to Reef Condition. (2017, PhD , Secondary Advisor)
• A Multi-Disciplinary Evaluation of The Hybrid Anemonefish Amphiprion leucokranos: Behaviour Shaping Evolutionary Outcomes of Hybridization (2017, PhD , Secondary Advisor)
• The effect of parental and embryonic predator environments on offspring (2016, PhD , Secondary Advisor)

The map shows research collaborations by institution from the past 7 years.
Note: Map points are indicative of the countries or states that institutions are associated with.