Carl G. Jones

Bio: Carl G. Jones is an academic researcher from Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust. The author has contributed to research in topics: Population & Endangered species. The author has an hindex of 34, co-authored 106 publications receiving 3401 citations. Previous affiliations of Carl G. Jones include Mauritian Wildlife Foundation & University of Salford.

Senescence rates are determined by ranking on the fast–slow life‐history continuum

Abstract: Comparative analyses of survival senescence by using life tables have identified generalizations including the observation that mammals senesce faster than similar-sized birds. These generalizations have been challenged because of limitations of life-table approaches and the growing appreciation that senescence is more than an increasing probability of death. Without using life tables, we examine senescence rates in annual individual fitness using 20 individual-based data sets of terrestrial vertebrates with contrasting life histories and body size. We find that senescence is widespread in the wild and equally likely to occur in survival and reproduction. Additionally, mammals senesce faster than birds because they have a faster life history for a given body size. By allowing us to disentangle the effects of two major fitness components our methods allow an assessment of the robustness of the prevalent life-table approach. Focusing on one aspect of life history - survival or recruitment - can provide reliable information on overall senescence.

‘Ghost’ alleles of the Mauritius kestrel

Abstract: The population of Mauritius kestrels is thought to have recovered from a single wild breeding pair in 19741, when its prospects were considered to be hopeless, to over 200 pairs today2 Here we evaluate the loss of genetic variation that resulted from this bottleneck by typing 12 microsatellite DNA loci in museum skins up to 170 years old and from modern kestrels We find that ancestral variation was remarkably high and comparable to continental kestrel species This shows that the unexpected resilience of the population could not have been due either to benefits contributed by an undetected remnant population or to reduction of the inbreeding genetic load by a history of small population size3

How Life History Influences Population Dynamics in Fluctuating Environments

Abstract: A major question in ecology is how age-specific variation in demographic parameters influences population dynamics. Based on long-term studies of growing populations of birds and mammals, we analyze population dynamics by using fluctuations in the total reproductive value of the population. This enables us to account for random fluctuations in age distribution. The influence of demographic and environmental stochasticity on the population dynamics of a species decreased with generation time. Variation in age-specific contributions to total reproductive value and to stochastic components of population dynamics was correlated with the position of the species along the slow-fast continuum of life-history variation. Younger age classes relative to the generation time accounted for larger contributions to the total reproductive value and to demographic stochasticity in "slow" than in "fast" species, in which many age classes contributed more equally. In contrast, fluctuations in population growth rate attributable to stochastic environmental variation involved a larger proportion of all age classes independent of life history. Thus, changes in population growth rates can be surprisingly well explained by basic species-specific life-history characteristics.

A roadmap for Antarctic and Southern Ocean science for the next two decades and beyond

Abstract: Antarctic and Southern Ocean science is vital to understanding natural variability, the processes that govern global change and the role of humans in the Earth and climate system. The potential for new knowledge to be gained from future Antarctic science is substantial. Therefore, the international Antarctic community came together to 'scan the horizon' to identify the highest priority scientific questions that researchers should aspire to answer in the next two decades and beyond. Wide consultation was a fundamental principle for the development of a collective, international view of the most important future directions in Antarctic science. From the many possibilities, the horizon scan identified 80 key scientific questions through structured debate, discussion, revision and voting. Questions were clustered into seven topics:i)Antarcticatmosphereandglobal connections,ii)Southern Oceanand sea iceina warmingworld, iii) ice sheet and sea level, iv) the dynamic Earth, v) life on the precipice, vi) near-Earth space and beyond, and vii) human presence in Antarctica. Answering the questions identified by the horizon scan will require innovative experimental designs, novel applications of technology, invention of next-generation field and laboratory approaches, and expanded observing systems and networks. Unbiased, non-contaminating procedures will be required to retrieve the requisite air, biota, sediment, rock, ice and water samples. Sustained year-round accesstoAntarcticaand the Southern Ocean willbe essential to increase winter-time measurements. Improved models are needed that represent Antarctica and the Southern Ocean in the Earth System, and provide predictions at spatial and temporal resolutions useful for decision making. A co-ordinatedportfolio ofcross-disciplinaryscience, based on new models ofinternational collaboration, will be essential as no scientist, programme or nation can realize these aspirations alone.

Character displacement and release in the small Indian mongoose, Herpestes javanicus

Abstract: In western parts of its native range, the small Indian mongoose (Herpestes javanicus) is sympatric with one or both of two slightly larger congeners. In the eastern part of its range, these species are absent. The small Indian mongoose was introduced, about a century ago, to the West Indies, the Hawaiian islands, Mauritius, the Fijian islands, and Okinawa. All introductions except possibly that to Mauritius were from the region of Calcutta and Bangladesh, where it is sympatric with both congeners. No other mongoose is present on any of these islands. In each instance, the introduced population derived from a small propagule. We examined size variation in the maximum diameter of the upper canine tooth (the prey-killing organ) and skull length. In the eastern (allopatric) part of its native range, males of the small Indian mongoose are much larger in both traits than in the western (sympatric) regions, approaching the size of the smaller of its absent two congeners, Herpestes edwardsii. Females from the allopatric part of the range are also larger than those of the source region. The species is more sexually dimorphic in the region of allopatry. On all islands to which it has been introduced, in 100-200 generations the small Indian mongoose has increased in male size and in sexual dimorphism; changes in female size have been slight and inconsistent. In general, sizes of island individuals are approx- imately intermediate in size between those in the region of origin (where they are sympatric and small) and those in the region of allopatry. Sexual dimorphism is greatest for canine diameter. Thus, H. javanicus shows variation consistent with ecological release from com- petition with its congeners. There is no evidence on whether this variation is genetic, nor on what dietary items might be partitioned between species and between sexes. However, morphological variation is consistently smaller for both traits and both sexes on the islands of introduction than in any part of the native range, consistent with idea of a genetic bottleneck imposed by the small propagule size. Neither of the two congeneric mongooses shows morphological variation consistent with ecological release from competition with H. javanicus in the southern part of their ranges, where the latter species is absent.

Out of the Crisis

Abstract: According to W. Edwards Deming, American companies require nothing less than a transformation of management style and of governmental relations with industry. In Out of the Crisis, originally published in 1982, Deming offers a theory of management based on his famous 14 Points for Management. Management's failure to plan for the future, he claims, brings about loss of market, which brings about loss of jobs. Management must be judged not only by the quarterly dividend, but by innovative plans to stay in business, protect investment, ensure future dividends, and provide more jobs through improved product and service. In simple, direct language, he explains the principles of management transformation and how to apply them.

Founding events in species invasions: genetic variation, adaptive evolution, and the role of multiple introductions

Abstract: Invasive species are predicted to suffer from reductions in genetic diversity during founding events, reducing adaptive potential. Integrating evidence from two literature reviews and two case studies, we address the following questions: How much genetic diversity is lost in invasions? Do multiple introductions ameliorate this loss? Is there evidence for loss of diversity in quantitative traits? Do invaders that have experienced strong bottlenecks show adaptive evolution? How do multiple introductions influence adaptation on a landscape scale? We reviewed studies of 80 species of animals, plants, and fungi that quantified nuclear molecular diversity within introduced and source populations. Overall, there were significant losses of both allelic richness and heterozygosity in introduced populations, and large gains in diversity were rare. Evidence for multiple introductions was associated with increased diversity, and allelic variation appeared to increase over long timescales (~100 years), suggesting a role for gene flow in augmenting diversity over the long-term. We then reviewed the literature on quantitative trait diversity and found that broad-sense variation rarely declines in introductions, but direct comparisons of additive variance were lacking. Our studies of Hypericum canariense invasions illustrate how populations with diminished diversity may still evolve rapidly. Given the prevalence of genetic bottlenecks in successful invading populations and the potential for adaptive evolution in quantitative traits, we suggest that the disadvantages associated with founding events may have been overstated. However, our work on the successful invader Verbascum thapsus illustrates how multiple introductions may take time to commingle, instead persisting as a 'mosaic of maladaptation' where traits are not distributed in a pattern consistent with adaptation. We conclude that management limiting gene flow among introduced populations may reduce adaptive potential but is unlikely to prevent expansion or the evolution of novel invasive behaviour.

Getting the measure of biodiversity

Abstract: The term 'biodiversity' is a simple contraction of 'biological diversity', and at first sight the concept is simple too: biodiversity is the sum total of all biotic variation from the level of genes to ecosystems. The challenge comes in measuring such a broad concept in ways that are useful. We show that, although biodiversity can never be fully captured by a single number, study of particular facets has led to rapid, exciting and sometimes alarming discoveries. Phylogenetic and temporal analyses are shedding light on the ecological and evolutionary processes that have shaped current biodiversity. There is no doubt that humans are now destroying this diversity at an alarming rate. A vital question now being tackled is how badly this loss affects ecosystem functioning. Although current research efforts are impressive, they are tiny in comparison to the amount of unknown diversity and the urgency and importance of the task.