Joni is the Communications Officer for the Modern Energy Cooking Services (MECS) programme, a £39.8 million UK Aid funded research programme which aims to rapidly accelerate the transition from cooking using biomass to modern energy cooking services on a global scale. Joni has worked in the renewable energy and international development landscape since March 2017, having previously managed communications for the Low Carbon Energy for Development Network (LCEDN).
She is a plant ecologist who is interested in how plants respond physiologically to changes in the biotic and abiotic environment, particularly nutrient availability. Knowledge in this area is important as it offers insight into the mechanisms driving the evolution of plant functional traits, and how plant communities may respond to global environmental change. Current research explores why some plant species are invasive by investigating within-population variation in leaf morphometric traits of the purple pitcher plant Sarracenia purpurea in its introduced range in Europe. Previous research explored the ecophysiological responses of carnivorous plants to resource availability, with a focus on nitrogen (N). Joni's PhD research utilised the carnivorous plant Drosera rotundifolia (round-leaved sundew) to address several unanswered ecophysiological and evolutionary questions relating to patterns and processes of prey capture and the N nutrition of carnivorous plants.
- Cook JL, Newton J, Millett J (2018) Environmental differences between sites control the diet and nutrition of the carnivorous plant Drosera rotundifolia. Plant Soil 423:41-58. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-017-3484-6