Leslie Jones

Fellowships:

• National Science Foundation Graduate Research Program Fellow. 2012-2015
• Montana Institute on Ecosystems Fellow. 2012

Expertise:

• Geospatial science
• Spatial statistics and modeling
• Ecosystem dynamics
• Environmental statistics
• Climate change impacts

Research interests: Developing a high-resolution stream temperature model for the Crown of the Continent Ecosystem (CCE) to simulate the potential effects of climate change on thermal habitat regimes of aquatic species. A spatially-explicit stream temperature model will be coupled with a fine-scale hydrologic model and air temperature model to predict stream temperatures under current climate conditions and forecasted climate change scenarios. A web-based interactive mapping application will also be developed, to provide a decision-support tool to land and water managers, conservation planners and researchers. This conservation tool will be used to assess aquatic species vulnerabilities and identify critical habitats at risk for maintaining species persistence under varying climate change scenarios. Results may be used to identify populations and habitats most susceptible to the impacts of climate change; develop monitoring and evaluation programs; inform future research needs; and develop conservation delivery options in response to climate change and other stressors (habitat loss and invasive species) with broad application that can be applied beyond the CCE.

Current Research:

• The potential impacts of climate change on native aquatic ecosystems of the northern Rocky Mountains.
• Evaluation of alternative dam operations on the movement and habitat use of bull trout and westslope cutthroat trout in the Flathead River.
• Evaluation of alternative dam operations on the movement and habitat use of bull trout in the Kootenai River.
• Analysis of Stream Habitat Conditions in Western Montana.

Publications:

Jones, L.A. Using a Spatially Explicit Stream Temperature Model to Assess Potential Effects of Climate Warming on Bull Trout Habitats. M.Sc. Thesis. Montana State University, Bozeman, 2012.

Schweiger, E.W., I.W. Ashton, C.C. Muhlfeld, L.A. Jones, and L. L. Bahls. The distribution and abundance of a nuisance native alga, Didymosphenia geminata, in streams of Glacier National Park: climate drivers and management implications, National Park Science, 2011.

Muhlfeld, Clint C., Leslie Jones, Daniel Kotter, William J. Miller, Doran Geise, Joel Tohtz, and Brian Marotz. 2011. Assessing the impacts of river regulation on native bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus) and westslope cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii lewisi) habitats in the upper Flathead River, Montana, USA. River Research and Applications. DOI: 10.1002/rra.1494

Muhlfeld, C.C., L. Jones, D. Kotter, J. Giersch, and J. Tohtz. 2010. Evaluating the impacts of alternative dam operations on native salmonid habitat in the upper Flathead River, Montana. Bozeman, Montana, USA.

“What is Carbon and the Carbon Cycle?” by Charles W. Rice, Richard Nelson, and Leslie Jones, MONT Guide Montana State University Extension Service, September 2004