Carl G. Jones

Carl Gwynfe Jones
MBE
Born (1954-06-20) 20 June 1954 (age 70)
Carmarthen, Wales, United Kingdom
Alma materUniversity of Wales, Swansea
Known forRestoration and conservation of Mauritius kestrel, pink pigeon, Mauritius parakeet, Mauritius olive white-eye, Rodrigues fody, Rodrigues flying fox.
SpousePaula Senior
Children2
AwardsMBE (2004)
Indianapolis Prize (2016)

Carl Gwynfe Jones, MBE (born 20 June 1954) is a Welsh conservation biologist, who has been employed by Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust since 1985, and a founding member (1984) and current scientific director of Mauritian Wildlife Foundation (MWF).[1] Additionally he is Chief Scientist at Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust,[2] and an honorary professor in ecology and conservation biology at the University of East Anglia.[3] Often outspoken on the importance of knowing your species and using intuition, empathy and practical knowledge over dogmatic education, Jones is best known for his work in recovering the Mauritius kestrel (Falco punctatus) from just four individuals in 1974, to an estimated 400.[4] Working in the Mascarene Islands since 1979, Jones has led five successful bird restoration projects where the starting population has numbered less than 12 individuals; as a consequence Mauritius has averted more bird extinctions than any other country.[5] Jones has pioneered the use of ecological or taxon replacements to fill the ecological roles of extinct animals[6] and successfully restored levels of endemic vegetation to previously denuded islets. Jones' work has been highlighted in Douglas Adams and Mark Carwardine's 1990 radio documentary Last Chance to See, along with its accompanying book,[7] as well as David Quammen's 1996 book The Song of the Dodo: Island Biogeography in an Age of Extinctions.

  1. ^ "Welcome to the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation (MWF) – About Us – Board of Directors". Mauritian-wildlife.org. 11 December 2012. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
  2. ^ "Mascarenes team | Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust". Durrell.org. 6 January 1990. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
  3. ^ "Carl Jones – University of East Anglia". UEA. 16 August 2012. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
  4. ^ BirdLife International (2016). "Falco punctatus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T22696373A93557909. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22696373A93557909.en. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  5. ^ Rodrigues, Ana S. L.; Brooks, Thomas M.; Butchart, Stuart H. M.; Chanson, Janice; Cox, Neil; Hoffmann, Michael; Stuart, Simon N. (26 November 2014). "Spatially Explicit Trends in the Global Conservation Status of Vertebrates". PLOS ONE. 9 (11): e113934. Bibcode:2014PLoSO...9k3934R. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0113934. PMC 4245261. PMID 25426636.
  6. ^ Griffiths, CJ; Hansen, DM; Jones, CG; Zuël, N; Harris, S (2011). "Current Biology – Resurrecting Extinct Interactions with Extant Substitutes". Current Biology. 21 (9): 762–765. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2011.03.042. PMID 21514155.
  7. ^ "BBC Two – Last Chance to See". Bbc.co.uk. 18 August 2012. Retrieved 22 November 2013.