Seagrass Ecosystem Research
My research is primarily focused on seagrass ecosystems and their associated fisheries. My PhD investigates the linkages between biodiversity and people using seagrass meadows as a model social-ecological system. I’m interested in these linkages more broadly to provide evidence for policy change across the Indo-Pacific that gives priority to seagrass meadows for the services they provide to people (e.g. livelihoods & food security), but also for measures that contribute to sustainable development (poverty reduction). I have been working with seagrass ecosystems for over 7 years and conducted seagrass associated research and conservation in Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Cambodia, Thailand, Tanzania, Mozambique, Mauritius, Mexico and the United Kingdom.
Fun fact, I’ve visited over 100 different seagrass meadows across 20 countries
My work also incorporates the conservation concerns of small-scale seagrass fisheries more broadly, including the by-catch (in terms of fish) implications of some fishing strategies and issues associated to destructive gear use (e.g. mosquito net fisheries).
My work has been featured in various popular science and public news media channels such as the BBC and National Geographic and I regularily contributes to The Conversation.
Citizen Science
I am a co-developer of SeagrassSpotter, an entry-level citizen science project. Established in 2016 in the UK, the project uses a smartphone app and website database as its platform and facilitates a participants’ ability to spot seagrass and upload geo-tagged photographs that include information about seagrass presence, condition and whether people are using it in any way (e.g. fishing). Expanding across Europe in late 2016, and Globally in 2018, the project has accumulated nearly 3000 sightings from nearly 100 countries and engaged over 1500 users.
Publications
- McKenzie, L., Nordlund, L.M., Jones, B.L., Cullen-Unsworth, L.C., Roelfsema, C.M. and Unsworth, R., 2020. The global distribution of seagrass meadows. Environmental Research Letters.
- Jones, B.L., and R.K.F. Unsworth. 2019. The perverse fisheries consequences of mosquito net malaria prophylaxis in East Africa. Ambio *
- Unsworth, R.K.F., Bertelli, C., Cullen-Unsworth, L., Esteban, N., Lilley, R., Jones, B.L., Lowe, C., Nuuttila, H. and Rees, S. (2019). Sowing the seeds of seagrass recovery using hessian bags. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 7, p.311. *
- Unsworth, R.K.F., McKenzie, L.J., Collier, C.J., Cullen-Unsworth, L.C., Duarte, C.M., Eklöf, J.S., Jarvis, J.C., Jones, B.L.& Nordlund, L.M. (2018). Global challenges for seagrass conservation. Ambio. *
- Jones, B. L. et al. (2018). Complex yet fauna-deficient seagrass ecosystems at risk in southern Myanmar. Botanica Marina, 61(3), 193-203.
- Unsworth, R.K.F, Ambo-Rappe, R., Jones, B.L., La Nafie, Y.A., Irawan, A., Hernawan, U.E., Moore, A.M. and Cullen-Unsworth, L.C. (2018). Indonesia’s globally significant seagrass meadows are under widespread threat. Science of the Total Environment 634, 279-286. *
- Jones, B.L. et al. (2018). Conservation concerns of small-scale fisheries: By-catch impacts of a shrimp and finfish fishery in a Sri Lankan lagoon. Frontiers in Marine Science 5, article number: 52. *
- Jones, B.L, Cullen-Unsworth, L.C and Unsworth, R.K.F. (2018). Tracking nitrogen source using δ15N reveals human and agricultural drivers of seagrass degradation across the British Isles. Frontiers in Plant Science 9, article number: 133. *
- Cullen-Unsworth, L.C., Jones, B.L., Lilley, R. and Unsworth, R.K.F. (2018). Secret gardens under the sea: What are seagrass meadows and why are they important? Frontiers for Young Minds 6(2).
- Jones, B.L. et al. (2017). Crowdsourcing conservation: The role of citizen science in securing a future for seagrass. Marine Pollution Bulletin. *
- Cullen-Unsworth, L.C., Jones, B.L., Seary, R., Newman, R. and Unsworth, R.K.F. (2017). Reasons for seagrass optimism: local ecological knowledge confirms presence of dugongs. Marine Pollution Bulletin. *
- Hind-Ozan, E.J. and Jones, B.L. (2017). Seagrass science is growing: a report on the 12th International Seagrass Biology Workshop. Marine Pollution Bulletin.
- Unsworth, R.K.F., Williams, B., Jones, B.L.& Cullen-Unsworth, L.C. (2017). Rocking the boat: damage to eelgrass by swinging boat moorings. Frontiers in Plant Science 8, article number: 1309. *
- Unsworth, R.K.F, Jones, B.L. & Cullen-Unsworth, L.C. (2016). Seagrass meadows are threatened by expected loss of peatlands in Indonesia. Global Change Biology 22(9), 2957-2958.
- Jones, B.L. & Unsworth, R.K.F. (2016). The perilous state of seagrass in the British Isles. Royal Society Open Science 3, article number: 150596. *
* is in the top 5% of all research outputs ever tracked by Altmetric.
Conferences and Workshops
- Developing strategies for seagrass conservation: a focus on food security provision.
Oral presentation delivered at MSEAS: Understanding marine socio-ecological systems: including the human dimension in Integrated Ecosystem Assessments, Brest, France. June 2016. - Small Scale Seagrass Fisheries in Sri Lanka. Oral presentation delivered at the 12th International Seagrass Biology Workshop, Gwynedd, UK. October 2016.
- SeagrassSpotter: Crowdsourcing seagrass conservation. Workshop delivered in Puerto Morelos, Mexico. March 2017.
- The Indo-Pacific Seagrass Network: Co-operative seagrass and fisheries research across the Indo-Pacific. Workshop delivered at the 13th International Seagrass Biology Workshop, Singapore and the 5th International Marine Conservation Congress, Borneo. June 2018
- Why science communication matters for the overlooked heroes of conservation.
Oral presentation delivered at the 5th International Marine Conservation Congress, Kuching, Malaysia. June 2018 - The Indo-Pacific Seagrass Network: What to do with the data you collect.
Workshop delivered at the 12th Western Indian Ocean Marine Science Association Symposium, Mauritius. July 2019. - Trait composition not species richness drives fish productivity in seagrass meadows. Poster presentation delivered at the 12th Western Indian Ocean Marine Science Association Symposium, Mauritius. July 2019
- Towards a social-ecological systems approach to seagrass conservation in the Indo-Pacific Ocean. Oral presentation delivered at the 6th International Marine Conservation Congress, Online. August 2020
Benjamin L. Jones 