Holly Jones
Professor

Field of Interest

  • Conservation biology
  • Restoration ecology
  • Island conservation
  • Climate change adaptation
  • Ecology
  • Seabird restoration

Research Interests

I am an applied ecologist and work at the intersections of ecological theory, community ecology, invasive species biology and ecosystem ecology. My broad research questions are:

  • How can current ecological theory be used and built upon to guide ecosystem restoration efforts?
  • How do large scale management disturbances impact the functional diversity of communities and how do those species shifts feed back into ecosystem functioning?
  • How does restoring ecosystem engineers (those with outsized influence on systems relative to their abundance) impact ecosystems and human well-being?
I have used museum specimens, meta-analysis, stable isotopes, remote sensing, small-scale field experiments, ecosystem-scale natural experiments, geospatial analysis and modeling to address these questions. I have worked both domestically and internationally and have experienced a variety of different cultures and customs throughout my career. The unifying theme of my research is applying basic ecological theory to answer fundamental applied questions.

Representative Publications

* denotes students

Jones, H. P., Borrelle, S. B. and Rankin, L. L. (in press). Land‐sea linkages depend on macroalgal species, predator invasion history in a New Zealand archipelago. Restoration Ecology, e13798.

Guiden, P.W., A. Burke*, J. Fliginger*, E.G. Rowland-Shaefer*, K. Savage* and H.P. Jones. (In press). Reintroduced mega herbivores indirectly shape small-mammal responses to moonlight. Ecology.

Pascoe, P.*, Shaw, J., Trebilco, R., Weldrick, C., Hindell, M. A. and H.P. Jones (2022). Temporal and spatial variability in stable isotope values on seabird islands: what, where and when to sample. Ecological Indicators, 143, 109344.

Rowland-Schaefer, E.G.*, E.M. Bach, B.P. Kleiman and H.P. Jones (2022). Mapping fire history and quantifying burned area through 35 years of prescribed fire history at an Illinois tallgrass prairie restoration site using GIS. Ecological Solutions and Evidence, 3(2), e12144.

Kurle, C.M., Cadotte, M.W., Jones, H.P., Seminoff, J.A., Newton, E.L. and Seo, M. (2022). Co‐designed ecological research for more effective management and conservation. Ecological Solutions and Evidence, 3(1), p.e12130.

Ladouceur, E., Shackelford, N., Bouazza, K., Brudvig, L., Bucharova, A., Conradi, T., Erickson, T.E., Garbowski, M., Garvy, K., Harpole, W.S., Jones, H.P., Knight, T., Nsikani, M.M., Paterno, G., Suding, K., Temperton, V.M, Török, P., Winkler, D.E. and Chase, J. M. (2022). Knowledge sharing for shared success in the decade on ecosystem restoration. Ecological Solutions and Evidence. 3(1), e12117.

Holthuijzen, W.A.*, Durham, S.L., Flint, E.N., Plissner, J.H., Rosenberger, K. J.*, Wolf, C.A. and Jones, H. P. (2021). Fly on the Wall: Comparing Arthropod Communities between Islands with and without House Mice (Mus musculus). Pacific Science. 75(3), 371-394.

Herakovich, H.*, Barber, N. A. and Jones, H. P. (2021) Assessing the Impacts of Prescribed Fire and Bison Disturbance on Birds Using Bioacoustic Recorders. American Midland Naturalist. 186(2): 245-262.

Wails, C.N*, Baker, K.*, Blackburn, R.C.*, Del Vallé, A.*, Heise, J.A.*, Herakovich, H.*, Holthuijzen, W.A.*, Nissenbaum, M.P.*, Rankin, L.*, Savage, K.*, Vanek, J.P.* and Jones, H.P. (2021) Assessing changes to ecosystem structure and function following invasion by Spartina alterniflora and Phragmites australis: A meta-analysis. Biological Invasions. 23: 2695-2709.

Jones, H. P. and Murphy, S. D. Answering the Call for #GenerationRestoration: The Special Feature from the Society for Ecological Restoration and British Ecological Society to meet the challenges under the United Nations Decade of Ecosystem Restoration (2021) Restoration Ecology. 29(4): e13343.

Contact

Holly Jones
Office: MO 436
Lab: MO 424
hjones@niu.edu

Curriculm Vitae
Jones Lab Website

Degrees

  • Ph.D., 2010, Yale University
  • M.Ph., 2007, Yale University
  • B.S. 2003 University of California, Santa Cruz