Ian L. Jones

graduates (recent)

publications

Research interests:

My research program is concerned with the ecology and evolutionary biology of seabirds, with an emphasis on demography, conservation issues, mate choice and sexual selection. My field studies have focused on the ecology of the Auks (Alcidae) of the North Atlantic, North Pacific and Bering Sea. I have been involved in a major long-term field research project concerning behavioural ecology, demography and conservation of Aethia auklets at Buldir and Kiska and Gareloi Islands, Alaska, with the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge, as well as a number of other smaller related projects.

I am interested in the processes that determine seabird population dynamics, especially related to oil spills, predation by gulls and introduced mammals, mortality related to commercial fishing, habitat destruction by humans, and fluctuation in food availability related to climate change and oceanographic processes. To this end, I have been involved in long-term mark-recapture studies of the following species: Least, Crested and Whiskered Auklets at Buldir Island, Alaska (with the Aleutian Island Unit of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge AMNWR); and Atlantic Puffin, Razorbill, and Thick-billed and Common Murres at the Gannet Islands, Labrador (ACWERN). We are measuring seabird survival rates, investigating the causes of variation in adult survival (especially climate change), and asking how these relate to measured changes in population size. Increasingly I am interested in science related to restoration of endangered islands.

I am interested in the function of elaborate ornamental traits of monogamous species (particularly seabirds), and the mechanisms by which these adornments may have evolved. My PhD thesis (with Bob Montgomerie, Queen's University concerned the ornamental traits and plumage variation of Least Auklets. This study and continuing work on Crested Auklets provided evidence for the role of mutual sexual selection involving mutual mating preferences in ornament evolution. Recent experiments have shown a heterospecific mating preference for crest ornaments by the crestless Least Auklet, evidence consistent with sexual selection for sensory exploitation. Continuing behavioural ecological research on Least, Crested and Whiskered Auklets at Buldir addresses topics including: function of Whiskered Auklet ornaments, a comparative study of sperm competition and extra-pair parentage, the relation of ornaments and parental care and the function of Least Auklets' plumage polymorphism.

Some recent publications (et c.) from our research group:

Schacter, C. and I.L. Jones. 2018 in press. Confirmed year-round residence and land roosting of Whiskered Auklets (Aethia pygmaea) at Buldir Island, Alaska. Auk (pdf here)

Schacter, C. and I.L. Jones. 2017. Effects of geolocation tracking devices on behavior, reproductive success and return rate of Aethia auklets: an evaluation of tag mass guidelines. Wilson Journal of Ornithology 129(3): 459-468.

Major, H., Buxton, R.T., Schacter, C., Conners, M. and I.L. Jones. 2017. Habitat modification as a means of restoring Aethia auklet colonies. Journal of Wildlife Management 81(1): 112-121.

Avery-Gomm, S., Valliant, M., Schacter, C., Robbins, K., Liboiron, M., Daoust, P-Y., Rios, L.M. and I.L. Jones 2016. A study of wrecked Dovekies (Alle alle) in the western North Atlantic highlights the importance of using standardized techniques to quantify plastic ingestion. Marine Pollution Bulletin 113(1-2:) 75-80.

Robbins, K.F., Schacter, C. and I.L. Jones. 2015. Geolocators reveal the winter distributions of three Aleutian-breeding auklet species.(poster presentation), 13th annual Alaska Marine Science Symposium, Anchorage, Alaska, 19-23 January 2015.

Robinson, J. and I.L. Jones. 2014. An experimental study of the effects of a tarsus-mounted tracking device on the behaviour of a small pursuit-diving seabird. Behaviour 151 (12-13): 1799-1826. DOI:10.1163/1568539X-00003217 (abstract)

Robbins, K.F., Robinson, J.L. and I.L. Jones. 2014. Seasonal movement ecology of Crested Auklets originating from the Aleutian Islands, AK.(poster presentation), 12th annual Alaska Marine Science Symposium, Anchorage, Alaska, 20-24 January 2014.

Schacter, C.R. and I.L. Jones. 2014. Preliminary results of an experimental study of gelocation tag effects on Parakeet and Whiskered Auklets. (abstract), 12th annual Alaska Marine Science Symposium, Anchorage, Alaska, 20-24 January 2014.

for other papers (some downloadable) go to the more complete list of publications

go to Ian's Buldir birds page http://www.mun.ca/serg/Buldir/buldirbirds.html

Graduates

Name and e-mail		degree and project	present occupation
Jill Robinson jill.louiserobinson 'at' gmail.com		Biology, M.Sc.	Executive Director, Habitat Acquisition Trust, Victoria, B.C., Canada
Shanti Davis shanti.davis 'at' gmail.com		Biology, M.Sc.	last contact: Environmental Consultant, Stantec Ltd.
Hannah Munro hannah.munro 'at' mun.ca		Biology, M.Sc., January 2012, Aethia auklets and their ectoparasites	PhD with Andrew Lang, Memorial University, and Hugh Whitney, NL DNR - concerning seabird ticks&Borrelia
Alex Bond abond 'at' mun.ca web page		Biology, Ph.D., Aug. 2011, Ecology of auklets at Kiska and beyond	Senior Conservation Scientist, Royal Society for the Preservation of Birds, Sandy, Bedfordshire, UK (link)
Cari Eggleston carie 'at' mun.ca		Biology, M.Sc., December 2010, Behaviour and ecology of rats at Kiska	Biologist, Alaska Department of Fish and Game (link)
Rachel Buxton r.buxton 'at' mun.ca		Biology, M.Sc., August 2010, Aleutian seabird recovery after anthropogenic extirpations	Postdoc, Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University - researching effects of noise on wildife (link)
Sampath Seneviratne sam 'at' sci.cmb.ac.lk		Biology, Ph.D., December 2008, Evolution of auklet acoustic and optical signals and ornaments	Research Scientist & Senior Lecturer in the Dept. of Zoology, Director, International Unit, University of Colombo , Sri Lanka (link)
Michelle Wille michelle.wille 'at' lnu.se		Biology, B.Sc., May 2008 - Analysis of an avian cholera outbreak in Newfoundland	Postdoc in the Dept. of Medical Biochemistry and Microbiology, Uppsala University, Sweden, working on wildlife pathogens (link)
Rosana Paredes (ACWERN) rparedes.insley 'at' gmail.com		Biology, Ph.D. Jan 2008 - Foraging behaviour and parental care of female and male auks	Postdoctoral Research Associate, running major seabird research programs in the eastern boreal Pacific and Bering Sea (link)
Sabir Bin Muzaffar (ACWERN) s_muzaffar 'at' uaeu.ac.ae WEB PAGE		Biology Ph.D. Oct 2007 - Diseases and parasites of birds: ecology and epidemiology	Assistant Professor, Department of Biology, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates (link)
Stephanie Royston (ACWERN) sroystondvm2013 'at' gmail.com		Biology, M.Sc. Oct 2007 - Conservation genetics of rare arctic gull species, Ivory and Ross' Gull	Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM), Tri Lake Animal Hospital, Lake Country BC, Canada
Greg McClelland mgreg 'at' sun.ac.za NEW		Biology M.Sc. May 2007 - Conservation of Tristram's Storm-Petrel (Oceanodroma tristrami) at Laysan and Tern Islands, NW Hawaiian Islands	Postdoc, DST-NRF Centre of Excellence for Invasion Biology, Department of Botany and Zoology, Stellenbosch University, South Africa (link)
Jennifer Lavers (ACWERN) Jennifer.Lavers 'at' csiro.au (web page)		Biology Ph.D. May 2007 - Demography of the Razorbill (Alca torda) in Atlantic Canada	Research scientist - Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, Hobart, Tasmania.
Grant Humphries a25grwh 'at' mun.ca		Biology, B.Sc., May 2007- Leach's Storm-Petrel vocalizations - Atlantic and Pacific compared	Postdoctoral Researcher at UC Davis - ‎Farallon Institute (link)
Martin Renner rennerm 'at' u.washington.edu		Biology, Ph.D., September 2005 - Evolution of Variation in Plumage and Ornamentation in Least Auklets Aethia pusilla	Postdoctoral researcher, University of Washington in intimate collaboration with the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge, Homer, Alaska
Paul Regular b23pmr 'at' mun.ca		Biology, B.Sc., May 2006 - Factors affecting auklet colony attendance behaviour at Buldir Island	PhD at MUN with Bill Montevecchi on seabird behaviour at sea
Christina Bourne christina.bourne 'at' gmail.com		Biology, B.Sc., May 2005 - Factors affecting auklet colony attendance behaviour at Buldir Island	Biologist, Department of Fisheries and Oceans - in St. John's, Newfoundland
Ian Goudie (ACWERN) e-mail: Ian Goudie		Biology, Ph.D., October 2004 - Behaviour and demography of Eastern Harlequin Ducks (Histronicus histronicus) in relation to aircraft noise	Environmental consultant (LGL limited), researcher and guru based in St. John's
Heather Major e-mail: heather.major3 'at' gmail.com web page		Biology, M.Sc. October 2004 - Impact of introduced Norway Rats on auklets at Kiska Island, Alaska	Assistant Professor of Biology, University of New Brunswick Saint John, Saint John NB, Canada (link).
Travis Clarke p9f45 'at' unb.ca		Biology, B.Sc., April 2004 - Glaucous-winged Gull diet at Buldir Island Alaska 1973-2003 reflects regime shifts, climate change and faunal collapse	Biological technician, Atlantic Lab for Avian Research, Biology Department, University of New Brunswick
Joshua Pennell (ACWERN)		Biology, B.Sc. May 2003 - philopatry of Razorbills banded as chicks at the Gannet Islands	Investigative journalist, St. John's, Newfoundland
Allison Veit acveit 'at' ucscalumni.com		Biology, M.Sc., May 2003 - Sexual selection and the tail ornament of the Red-tailed Tropicbird (Phaethon rubricauda) at French Frigate Shoals	Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM), Oakland, California
Sabir Bin Muzaffar s_muzaffar 'at' uaeu.ac.ae		Biology, M.Sc., June 2000 - Auk ectoparasites ecology and diversity	Assistant Professor, Department of Biology, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates (link)
Shauna Baillie (ACWERN) s.m.baillie 'at' gmail.com		Biology, M.Sc.,Oct 2001 -Feeding ecology of Atlantic Puffins - Gannet Islands/Gull Island, Newfoundland	Postdoctoral Researcher with Paul Bentzen's research group in Biology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada (link)
Melanie Massaro (ACWERN) melanie.massaro 'at' canterbury.ac.nz web page		Biology, M.Sc. June 2000, co-supervised with John Chardine - Impacts of predation by large gulls on kittiwakes	Lecturer Ecology/Ornithology, School of Environmental Sciences, Charles Sturt University, Albury/Wodonga, Australia (link)
Gail Fraser gsfraser 'at' yorku.ca		Biopsychology, Ph.D. October 1999 - Behavioural ecology of Crested Auklet parental care at Buldir Island, Alaska	Associate Professor, Department of Biology, York University, Yourk Ontario, Canada (link)
Rachel Bryant (ACWERN) rachel.bryant 'at' utoronto.ca		Biopsychology, M.Sc. October 1998 - Foraging beaviour of Common and Thick-billed Murres at the Gannet Islands, Labrador	Last contact: PhD student in Philosophy at UofT on the subject of environmental ethics
Ed Hearne (ACWERN) hearne 'at' c2i2.com		Biology, M.Sc. May 1999 - tour boat disturbance impacts on seabirds at Gull Island, Newfoundland	High School Teacher, Buena High School, Sierra Vista, Arizona
Sherrylynn Rowe (ACWERN) Sherrylynn.Rowe 'at' Dal.Ca		Biology, B.Sc. May 1998 - Razorbill nest site selection at the Gannet Islands, Labrador	Research Scientist, Marine Institute, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, cross-appointed to Biology Department (link)