Vitt, P., K. Holsinger, C. S. Jones. 2003. Local differentiation and plasticity in functional size and sex expression in Jack-in-the-pulpit, Arisaema triphyllum, Amer. J. Bot. 90: 1729-1735.
Jones, C. S., Z. G. Cardon, A. Czaja. 2003. A phylogenetic view of low level CAM in Pelargonium (Geraniaceae). Amer. J. Bot. 90: 135-142.
Watson, M. A., K. Scott, J. Griffith, S. Dieter, C. Jones and S. Nanda. 2001. The developmental ecology of mycorrhizal associations in mayapple, Podophyllum peltatum, Berberidadeae. Evolutionary Ecology 15: 425-442.
Jones, C. S. 2001. The functional correlates of heteroblastic variation in leaves: changes in form and ecophysiology with whole plant ontogeny. Bol. Soc. Argenti. Bot. 36: 171-184.
Jones, C. S. and M. A. Watson. 2001. Heteroblasty and preformation in mayapple, Podophyllum peltatum (Berberidaceae): Developmental flexibility and morphological constraint. Amer. J. Bot. 88: 1340-1358.
Jones, C. S. 1999. An essay on juvenility, phase change and heteroblasty in seed plants. Int. J. Plant Science 160: S105-S111
Mercure, E. W., C. S. Jones, Brand, M. H. and C. A. Auer. 1998. Anatomy of shoots and tumors of in vitro habituated Rhododendron "Montego" cultures with tissue proliferation. Amer. J. .Bot. 85:616-628.
Kane, N. A., C. S. Jones, and T. Vourisalo. 1997. Development of galls on leaves of Alnus glutinosa and Alnus incana caused by the eriophyid mite, Eriophyes laevis. Int. J. Plant Science 158: 13-23
Jones, C. S. and R. A. Price. 1996. Diversity and evolution of seedling Bauplane in Pelargonium (Geraniaceae). Aliso 14: 281-295.
Jones, C. S. 1995. Does shade prolong juvenile development? A morphological analysis of leaf shape changes in Cucurbita argyrosperma subsp. sororia (Cucurbitaceae) Amer. J. Bot. 82: 346-359.
Jones, C. S. 1993. Heterochrony and heteroblastic leaf development in two subspecies of Cucurbita argyrosperma (Cucurbitaceae). Amer. J. Bot. 80: 778-795.
Jones, C. S. 1992. Comparative ontogeny of a wild cucurbit and its derived cultivar. Evolution 46: 1827-1847..
Jones, C. S. 1984. The effect of axis splitting on xylem pressure potentials and water movement in the desert shrub Ambrosia dumosa (Gray) Payne (Asteraceae). Botanical Gazette: 145: 125-131.
Jones, C. S. and E. M. Lord. 1982. The development of split axes in Ambrosia dumosa (Gray) Payne (Asteraceae). Botanical Gazette: 143: 446-453.
Developmental Plant Morphology
Jessica Budke (current Ph.D.),
co-advised with Bernard Goffinet
Emily Getz (current Ph.D.)
Sarina Lambert (current Ph.D.)
Matt Opel (Ph.D.) 2004
Natalie Kane (MS) 2002
Jaren Madden (MS) 1998
Dr. Cynthia S. Jones
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
University of Connecticut
75 N. Eagleville Road, Unit-3043
Storrs, CT 06269-3043
Tel: (860) 486-4150
Fax: (860) 486-6364
Research InterestsResearch in my lab focuses on ecological and evolutionary sources of morphological diversity in plants. My research to date has concentrated on how shoots evolve within the context of whole plant growth and how leaf, branch and main axis evolution are influenced by a plant's evolutionary history and ecological context.
Shifts in the morphology and physiology of leaf and stem units (metamers) within individuals are a normal part of plant development. I am interested in the developmental basis of heteroblasty, how heteroblasty in leaves relates to other life stage transitions, e.g. reproduction, how heteroblasty evolves within lineages, and whether heteroblastic shifts in metamer form are functionally important.
Evolution of diversity
The origin and maintenance of species diversity is a cornerstone issue in evolutionary biology. The flora of South Africa offers many examples of radiations of speciose clades with large numbers of endemics. Pelargonium, known abroad for its horticultural taxa, is the seventh largest genus in the Cape Floristic region. Using the phylogenetic history presented by Bakker et al., I am working with Adrienne Nicotra, Carl Schlichting and Freek Bakker to investigate a series of questions centered around the evolution of the diversity of leaf shapes and body plans in the genus.
In all organisms, the unfolding of an ontogeny is inextricably linked to the environment in which that organism grows. For spatially restricted, continuously developing organisms such as plants, temporal changes in environment are part and parcel of the ecological history, and thus evolutionary selective history, of that organism. I am interested in how temporal and morphological developmental patterns evolve in concert to result in adaptive phenotypes. One project addressing these questions is on mayapple, Podophyllum peltatum (Berderidaceae), a perennial herb of temperate forests of North America. Working with with Maxine Watson at Indiana University and other collaborators, we found that shoot type determination by the apical meristem, i.e. whether the next year's shoot is vegetative or reproductive, results from a combined sensitivity of the meristem to the growth rate of the shoot, to the reproductive status of the existing shoot, and to past history of the sympodial rhizome system.
Vast spans of arid landscapes support dominant shrub species that undergo axis splitting, a process whereby single shrub seedlings become hydraulically and physically separated into separate individual segments as the plant matures. In collaboration with Jochen Schenk at Cal State Fullerton, my lab is investigating the anatomical processes underlying and functional consequences of axis splitting.