Jess Jones

Jess Jones is an Associate Professor in the Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, affiliated with the College of Natural Resources and Environment. She holds a Ph.D. (2009), M.Sc. (2004), and B.Sc. (1996) in related fields from the same institution. Her research focuses on freshwater mussel conservation, including aquaculture, restoration ecology, ecotoxicology, and genetics. Jones collaborates extensively with agencies like the US Fish & Wildlife Service on high-impact projects such as mussel population restoration in the Clinch and Powell Rivers and contaminant studies in river systems.

Her work emphasizes developing innovative propagation techniques and assessing environmental threats like major ion contamination from coal mining. Projects include a 20-year Population Viability Analysis for endangered mussels and taxonomic assessments of rare species. Jones also engages in international collaboration with Brazilian researchers to advance global mussel restoration strategies. She teaches Applied Conservation Genetics and directs the Freshwater Mollusk Conservation Center, contributing to both academic and applied conservation efforts.