Roger I. Jones

I am currently Emeritus Professor at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland, where I was formerly Professor of Limnology from 2002-2017. Earlier I was Senior Lecturer at the University of Lancaster, UK, and Lecturer at the University of Loughborough, UK, after holding postdoctoral positions at the University of Helsinki and the University of Bangor. My original research training was in phytoplankton production and population dynamics. Subsequently my research has covered many aspects of freshwater ecology, but has been concerned mainly with processes controlling the transfer of carbon and nutrients through pelagic food webs in lakes. Much of my recent research has involved Stable Isotope Analysis. A long-standing interest has been humic lakes and the influence exerted on lake processes by allochthonous dissolved organic materials of terrestrial origin. More recently this interest in “alternative” energy sources to lakes has led me to study the importance of methane produced by anaerobic decomposition of organic matter. Methane produced in anoxic lake sediments and later oxidised by methanotrophic bacteria at oxic-anoxic interfaces can be an important source of carbon/energy for chironomid larvae in many lakes, and even for zooplankton in certain lake types. A second persistent theme of my research has been the use of whole-lake manipulations to study limnological processes. Many ecological processes are scale-dependent and cannot be understood solely by a reductionist approach. Thus although laboratory and other small-scale experiments can be very valuable, experimental studies at the ecosystem scale are essential for full understanding.

Education and Academic Positions

• 1976 PhD in Phytoplankton Ecology, New University of Ulster, Coelraine, Northern Ireland, UK
• 1972 BSc in Biology, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK

Research Interests

Teaching Interests

• General limnology, including field courses
• Stable isotope analysis
• Phytoplankton ecology and identification
• Scientific writing

Scientific Activities

• Extensive external research funding from various sources
• More than 150 papers in international peer-reviewed scientific journals
• Supervisor of 27 PhD theses
• Editor of Freshwater Biology, 2002-2015
• Editor of British Phycological Journal, than European Journal of Phycology, 1988-1993
• Reviewer for numerous scientific journals
• Evaluator of numerous PhD theses, docentships, professorial appointments from different countries
• Evaluator of research proposals for several funding agencies from different countries
• Numerous invited lectures/seminars at different universities and international conferences