Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

James Evans, Ph.D.

James is a postdoctoral Research Marine Biologist with the St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center, where he is part of the Coral Microbial Ecology Laboratory.

James is interested in the intersection between microbial symbiosis and host function and fitness, with a particular focus on marine conservation. His current research with the USGS uses molecular approaches to investigate the causative agent(s) of stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD), an ongoing coral disease outbreak currently impacting reefs throughout Florida and the wider Caribbean. His prior research experience includes using marine invertebrate microbiomes to better understand the invasive potential of nonnative marine species and as a tool to help distinguish between morphologically indistinguishable cryptic lineages.

Science and Products

link
Boulder brain coral with signs of stony coral tissue loss disease

Integrating Science and Management to Assist with the Response to Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease

A USGS multi-disciplinary team will use laboratory and modeling approaches to investigate the cause of stony coral tissue loss disease.
By
Eastern Ecological Science Center, National Wildlife Health Center, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center
link

Integrating Science and Management to Assist with the Response to Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease

A USGS multi-disciplinary team will use laboratory and modeling approaches to investigate the cause of stony coral tissue loss disease.
Learn More

Prokaryotic Communities Shed by Diseased and Healthy Coral (Diploria labyrinthiformis, Pseudodiploria strigosa, Montastraea cavernosa, Colpophyllia natans, and Orbicella faveolata) into Filtered Seawater Mesocosms - Raw and Processed Data

The files in this data release are those referenced in the journal article by Evans and others (2023) entitled 'Investigating microbial size classes associated with the transmission of stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD)'. The files contain an amplicon sequence variant (ASV) table and the raw 16S rRNA gene amplicon files from fifty-six 0.22-micrometer (µm) pore size filters, as well as six rea
By
St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center

Expert assessments of hypotheses concerning the etiological agent(s) of Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease collected during a rapid prototyping project

This dataset is from expert elicitation of a panel of 15 experts with knowledge of stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) and its impacts on coral reefs. We gathered this group of 15 participants with diverse expertise who had previously studied SCTLD including at universities and various government agencies as microbiologists, pathologists, disease ecologists, population ecologists, and coral ex
By
Cooperative Research Units

Prokaryotic Communities From Marine Biofilms Formed on Stainless Steel Plates in Coral Mesocosms - Raw and Processed Data

The files in this data release are those referenced in the journal article by Evans and others (2022) entitled "Ship Biofilms as Potential Reservoirs of Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease." They contain an amplicon sequence variant (ASV) table and the raw 16S ribosomal ribonucleic acid (rRNA) gene amplicon deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) sequence files from 15 microbial communities (sample names: CnD16B,
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center
a coral fragment in a bucket, half white and half darkened
link

Investigating microbial size classes associated with the transmission of stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD)

Effective treatment and prevention of any disease necessitates knowledge of the causative agent, yet the causative agents of most coral diseases remain unknown, in part due to the difficulty of distinguishing the pathogenic microbe(s) among the complex microbial backdrop of coral hosts. Stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) is a particularly destructive disease of unknown etiology, capable of tr
Authors
James S. Evans, Valerie J. Paul, Blake Ushijima, Kelly A. Pitts, Christina A. Kellogg
By
St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center

A scuticociliate causes mass mortality of Diadema antillarum in the Caribbean Sea

Echinoderm mass mortality events shape marine ecosystems by altering the dynamics among major benthic groups. The sea urchin Diadema antillarum, virtually extirpated in the Caribbean in the early 1980s by an unknown cause, recently experienced another mass mortality beginning in January 2022. We investigated the cause of this mass mortality event through combined molecular biological and veterinar
Authors
Ian Hewson, Isabella T. Ritchie, James S. Evans, Ashley Altera, Donald Behringer, Erin Bowman, Marilyn E. Brandt, Kayla A. Budd, Ruleo A. Camacho, Tomas O. Cornwell, Peter D. Countway, Aldo Croquer, Gabriel A. Delgado, Christopher M. DeRito, Elizabeth Duermit-Moreau, Ruth Francis-Floyd, Samuel Gittens Jr., Leslie Henderson, Alwin Hylkema, Christina A. Kellogg, Yasunari Kiryu, Kimani A. Kitson-Walters, Patricia Kramer, Judith C. Lang, Harilaos Lessios, Lauren Liddy, David Marancik, Stephen Nimrod, Joshua T. Patterson, Marit Pistor, Isabel C. Romero, Rita Sellares-Blasco, Moriah L. B. Sevier, William C. Sharp, Matthew Souza, Andreina Valdez-Trinidad, Marijn van der Laan, Brayan Vilanova-Cuevas, Maria Villalpando, Sarah D. Von Hoene, Matthew Warham, Tom Wijers, Stacey M. Williams, Thierry M. Work, Roy P. Yanong, Someira Zambrano, Alizee Zimmermann, Mya Breitbart
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, National Wildlife Health Center, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center

Rapid prototyping for quantifying belief weights of competing hypotheses about emergent diseases

Emerging diseases can have devastating consequences for wildlife and require a rapid response. A critical first step towards developing appropriate management is identifying the etiology of the disease, which can be difficult to determine, particularly early in emergence. Gathering and synthesizing existing information about potential disease causes, by leveraging expert knowledge or relevant exis
Authors
Ellen Padgett Robertson, Daniel P. Walsh, Julien Martin, Thierry M. Work, Christina A. Kellogg, James S. Evans, Aine Marie Alice Campbell Hawthorn, Greta Aeby, Valerie J. Paul, Brian Walker, Yasunari Kiryu, Cheryl M. Woodley, Julie L. Meyer, Stephanie M. Rosales, Michael S. Studivan, Jennifer Moore, Marilyn E. Brandt, Andrew Bruckner
By
Cooperative Research Units

A meta-analysis of the stony coral tissue loss disease microbiome finds key bacteria in unaffected and lesion tissue in diseased colonies

Stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) has been causing significant whole colony mortality on reefs in Florida and the Caribbean. The cause of SCTLD remains unknown, with the limited concurrence of SCTLD-associated bacteria among studies. We conducted a meta-analysis of 16S ribosomal RNA gene datasets generated by 16 field and laboratory SCTLD studies to find consistent bacteria associated with S
Authors
Stephanie M. Rosales, Lindsay K. Huebner, James S. Evans, Amy Apprill, Andew C. Baker, Anthony J. Bellantuono, Marilyn E. Brandt, Abigail S. Clark, Javier del Campo, Caroline E. Dennison, Katherine R. Eaton, Naomi E. Huntley, Christina A. Kellogg, Monica Medina, Julie L. Meyer, Erinn M. Muller, Mauricio Rodriguez-Lanetty, Jennifer L. Salerno, W. Bane Schill, Erin N. Shilling, Julia Marie Stewart, Joshua D. Voss
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Eastern Ecological Science Center, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center

Biofilms as potential reservoirs of stony coral tissue loss disease

Since 2014, corals throughout Florida’s Coral Reef have been plagued by an epizootic of unknown etiology, colloquially termed stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD). Although in Florida the movement of this waterborne coral disease has been consistent with natural transport via water currents, outbreaks in the Caribbean have been more sporadic, with infections occurring in locations inconsistent
Authors
James S. Evans, Valerie J. Paul, Christina A. Kellogg
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center

Combining tangential flow filtration and size fractionation of mesocosm water as a method for the investigation of waterborne coral diseases

The causative agents of most coral diseases today remain unknown, complicating disease response and restoration efforts. Pathogen identifications can be hampered by complex microbial communities naturally associated with corals and seawater, which create complicating “background noise” that can potentially obscure a pathogen’s signal. Here, we outline an approach to investigate waterborne coral di
Authors
James S. Evans, Valerie J. Paul, Blake Ushijima, Christina A. Kellogg
By
Biological Threats and Invasive Species Research Program, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center, Gulf of Mexico
link

SPCMSC Scientists Participate in Research Cruise to Collect Gulf of Mexico Deep Sea Corals for Microbiology Research

Research Microbiologist Christina Kellogg and Research Marine Biologist James Evans took part in a research cruise in the Gulf of Mexico, collecting...

Read Article
link

USGS and international team identify the pathogen responsible for 2022 die-off of long-spined sea urchins (Diadema antillarum) across the Caribbean

A fatal pathogen affecting the long-spined sea urchin decimated populations of this important herbivore in the 1980s. A similar disease emerged in...

Read Article
link

SPCMSC Scientists Co-Author Meta-Analysis of the Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease (SCTLD) Microbiome

SPCMSC Research Microbiologist Dr. Christina Kellogg and Research Marine Biologist Dr. James Evans, along with fellow USGS scientist W. Bane Schill...

Read Article
link

Possible Links Between Ship-Associated Biofilms and Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease

Research Marine Biologist James Evans and Research Microbiologist Christina Kellogg investigated the possible role of biofilms in the spread of stony...

Read Article

Science and Products