Chris M. Jones

 

My research is focused on understanding invasive pest and pathogen spread and impacts. Invasive pests and pathogens pose a significant threat to forest and agricultural ecosystems. I seek to understand how pest and pathogen disturbances affect forest biodiversity and ecosystem services.

 

My undergraduate honors thesis was focused on hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA). I furthered this work during my first year of my PhD. HWA is an invasive forest pest that feeds on Eastern Hemlock and has no natural predators.

 

 

My current research focuses on Phytophthora ramorum in Big Sur, California. I am using a computational modeling framework known as LANDIS-II. I have lead the development of an Epidemiological Disturbance Agent (EDA) extension within this framework. This is the first extension that has been parallelized within this framework. I am currently working on parallelizing other model extensions and the core of the framework. I am currently utilizing this framework to determine how Phytophthora Ramorum is affecting the naturally occurring fire regime in Big Sur, CA.

 

 

Additionally, I am working with NCSU and the US Forest Service APHIS SAFARIS program to develop a generalizable pest and pathogen model for both forest and agricultural systems. This model will be available on the SAFARIS framework website.