Catherine S Jones

Qualifications
1990 PhD Biology, University College London, UK
1985 BSc Honours Biology 2.1, University of Nottingham, UK.

Positions
2002-Present: Senior Lecturer, School of Biological Sciences, University of Aberdeen, UK
2005-2007 Royal Society of Edinburgh Research Sabbatical Fellowship, University of Aberdeen, UK,
1998-2002 Lecturer, School of Biological Sciences, University of Aberdeen, UK
1997-2002 BBSRC Advanced Fellowship, University of Aberdeen, UK
1996 Postdoctoral Research Assistant, University of Aberdeen (EU funded).
1993-1996 Wellcome Trust Junior Biodiversity Research Fellowship, University of Oxford, UK
1992-1993 E.P. Abraham Research Fellowship, University of Oxford, UK
1989-1991 NERC Postdoctoral Research Assistant, Zoology Department, University of Oxford, UK

Teaching areas
Undergraduate teaching - Invertebrates in Diversity of Life, Genes and Evolution, Biology and Control of Infectious Diseases, Fundamentals in Marine Biology (Elasmobranch top predators), Frontiers in Biological Sciences, Laboratory Skills in Biosciences.
Masters - Marine Conservation Biology (Genetics and Marine Protected Areas).

Research
My research focuses on the application of molecular genetics and genomics to the ecology and conservation of endangered species. As molecular ecologists we use molecular data in elusive marine species to assist conservation management questions, particularly in top predators, the elasmobranchs. Yet the biology of long-lived and enigmatic ‘flagship’ species such as the Great white and basking shark is surprisingly poorly understood. We seek to comprehend how genetic diversity evolves in these small, highly vagile populations, the role that local adaptation plays and its consequence for conservation biology and management, along with the impacts of renewable energy facilities. We utilize methods such as DNA profiling (genetic tagging) through to next generation sequencing, integrating these data with seascape analyses (GIS) in an effort to provide comprehensive information for biodiversity management and conservation, such as implementation of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). Work has recently expanded to include the reproductive health of elasmobranchs, examining diversity at the major histocompatibility complex (MHC), containing some of the most polymorphic immune loci within the vertebrates, and parasite burden, as well as the impact of pollutants acting as endocrine disruptors (EDs).

Additionally I seek to understand the invasive nature of several Arionid slugs, vectors of many plant diseases, which is of fundamental importance for national and international crop security. Similarly understanding the evolution of host-parasite interactions in several aquatic systems (including the medically important freshwater snail intermediate host of trematodes, Biomphalaria glabrata and the ectoparasitism in commercially important Atlantic salmon by sealice or the monogenean, Gyrodactylus salaris) is of fundamental importance.

Publications
Abundance and Spatial Distribution of Brown Crab (Cancer pagurus) from Fishery-Independent Dredge and Trawl surveys in the North Sea 2020 Mesquita, C., Dobby, H., Pierce, G. J., Jones, C. S., Fernandes, P. G. ICES Journal of Marine Science

Distribution and thermal niche of the common skate species complex in the North-East Atlantic 2020 Frost, M., Neat, F. C., Stirling, D., Bendall, V., Noble, L. R., Jones, C. S. Marine Ecology Progress Series

Size-at-maturity of Brown Crab (Cancer pagurus) in Scottish waters based on gonadal and morphometric traits 2020 Mesquita, C., Dobby, H., Sweeting, S., Jones, C. S., Pierce, G. J. Fisheries Research, vol. 229, 105610

Spatio-temporal genetic tagging of a cosmopolitan planktivorous shark provides insight to gene flow, temporal variation and site-specific re-encounters 2020
Lieber, L., Hall, G., Hall, J., Berrow, S., Johnston, E., Gubili, C., Sarginson, J., Francis, M., Duffy, C., Wintner, S. P., Doherty, P. D., Godley, B. J., Hawkes, L. A., Witt, M. J., Henderson, S. M., de Sabata, E., Shivji, M. S., Dawson, D. A., Sims, D. W., Jones, C. S., Noble, L. R. Scientific Reports, vol. 10, 1661

Spiral valve parasites of blue and common thresher sharks as indicators of shark feeding behaviour and ecology 2020 Preti, A., MacKenzie, K., Spivey, K. A., Noble, L. R., Jones, C. S., Appy, R. G., Pierce, G. J. Journal of Fish Biology, vol. 97, no. 2

The complete mitochondrial genome of the blue skate Dipturus batis 2020 Delaval, A., Schwanck, T., Kopp, M. E. L., Hoarau, G., Jones, C. S., Noble, L. R. Mitochondrial DNA Part B: Resources, vol. 5, no. 3

Ontogenetic Variation in Movements and Depth Use, and Evidence of Partial Migration in a Benthopelagic Elasmobranch 2019 Thorburn, J., Neat, F., Burrett, I., Henry, L., Bailey, D. M., Jones, C. S., Noble, L. R. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, vol. 7

Spatial versus temporal structure: Implications of inter-haul variation and relatedness in the North-east Atlantic spurdog Squalus acanthias 2018 Thorburn, J., Jones, R., Neat, F., Pinto, C., Bendall, V., Hetherington, S., Bailey, D. M., Leslie, N., Jones, C. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, vol. 28, no. 5