Rate My Professor Natalie Jones

Dr. Natalie Jones serves as a Lecturer in Ecology at Griffith University, within the School of Environment and Science's Environmental Sustainability and Management group. She is also affiliated with the Australian Rivers Institute as a Research Fellow. Jones earned her PhD from the University of Toronto's Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, where her dissertation examined community dynamics in zooplankton communities under the supervision of Professor Ben Gilbert. Following her doctoral studies, she held postdoctoral positions at the University of Queensland, collaborating with Professor Margie Mayfield to investigate the role of dormancy in facilitating species coexistence, and at the University of California, San Diego, with Professor Jonathan Shurin, focusing on how trophic interactions influence the assembly of novel communities in changing environments.

Her research centers on community ecology, integrating empirical fieldwork and theoretical modeling to understand how fluctuating environmental conditions interact with species interactions to shape patterns of biological diversity. Jones employs a variety of model systems, including plant communities, plankton, and nematodes, to test foundational ecological theories and explore mechanisms such as dormancy and dispersal that promote coexistence amid disturbance. With 45 peer-reviewed publications documented on ResearchGate and over 550 citations, her contributions have advanced knowledge in ecological stability and community assembly processes. At Griffith University, she teaches undergraduate courses like ENV2051 on ecological principles and supervises honors and research projects, including studies on seed dormancy and environmental resilience. Her work supports broader efforts in environmental sustainability, catchment management, and river health research through the Australian Rivers Institute.