James Grace, Ph.D. (Former Employee)
Science and Products
Coastal Wetland Vulnerability to Climate Change and Sea-Level Rise: Understanding Ecological Thresholds and Ecosystem Transformations
Eighteen USGS coastal scientists from all four coasts of the conterminous United States are working together to advance the understanding of climate change and sea-level rise impacts to coastal wetlands.
By
California Water Science Center, Chesapeake Bay Activities, Eastern Ecological Science Center, Florence Bascom Geoscience Center, Great Lakes Science Center, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC), Western Geographic Science Center, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center , Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center
Synthesizing Surface Elevation Change Data to Advance Understanding of Sea-level Rise Impacts to Mangrove Forests and Salt Marshes
USGS and NPS partners are working together to analyze and synthesize long-term SET-MH measurements to improve understanding of coastal wetland soil elevation change and ecological responses to sea-level rise.
The Response of Coastal Wetlands to Sea-level Rise: Understanding how Macroscale Drivers Influence Local Processes and Feedbacks
The purpose of this work is to advance our understanding of how coastal wetland responses to sea-level rise (SLR) within the conterminous United States are likely to vary as a function of local, regional, and macroscale drivers, including climate. Based on our interactions with managers and decision makers, as well as our knowledge of the current state of the science, we propose to: (a) conduct a...
The response of coastal wetlands to sea-level rise: Understanding how macroscale drivers influence local processes and feedbacks
The purpose of this work is to advance our understanding of how coastal wetland responses to SLR within the conterminous United States are likely to vary as a function of local, regional, and macroscale drivers, including climate. Based on our interactions with managers and decision makers, as well as our knowledge of the current state of the science, we propose to (a) conduct a national synoptic...
Development of a Multimetric Index for Integrated Assessment of Salt Marsh Condition in the Northeast Coastal and Barrier Network
Salt marsh ecosystems along all US coastlines have been altered, degraded, and destroyed by human activities, including ditching and drainage of the marsh platform, tidal restrictions, discharge of pollutants, and introduction of invasive species. The National Park Service conducts long-term monitoring of salt marsh vegetation and nekton (fish and free-swimming crustaceans) to provide information...
Quantitative Analysis Using Structural Equation Modeling
USGS scientists have been involved for a number of years in the development and use of Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). This methodology represents an approach to statistical modeling that focuses on the study of complex cause-effect hypotheses about the mechanisms operating in systems. SEM is increasingly used in ecological and environmental studies and this site seeks to provide educational...
Improving Our Ability to Forecast Tidal Marsh Response to Sea Level Rise
Our overall objective is to understand what controls the vulnerability of coastal marshes to risks associated with global change drivers and rising sea levels. Fundamental questions pertaining to coastal wetland vulnerability still need to be addressed. What factors explain spatial and geographic variation in tidal wetland vulnerability? How do short term climatic events (storms) influence the...
Structural Equation Modeling in Support of Conservation
Understanding systems sometimes requires approaches that allow for both the discovery of the a system's structure and the estimation of its implications. Structural Equation Modeling - SEM - is one tool scientists use to better understand the complex world in which we live.
Mechanisms of Coastal Marsh Elevation Regulation
Sediment deposition serves an important role in the long-term maintenance of coastal marshes. USGS investigates the mechanisms of coastal marsh elevation regulation to help predict marsh sediment requirements under various sea level rise scenarios.
Filter Total Items: 188
Structural equation modeling and the analysis of long-term monitoring data Structural equation modeling and the analysis of long-term monitoring data
The analysis of long-term monitoring data is increasingly important; not only for the discovery and documentation of changes in environmental systems, but also as an enterprise whose fruits validate the allocation of effort and scarce funds to monitoring. In simple terms, we may distinguish between the detection of change in some ecosystem attribute versus the investigation of causes and
Authors
James B. Grace, Jon E. Keeley, Darren Johnson, A Kenneth Bollen
A general theory of multimetric indices and their properties A general theory of multimetric indices and their properties
1. Stewardship of biological and ecological resources requires the ability to make integrative assessments of ecological integrity. One of the emerging methods for making such integrative assessments is multimetric indices (MMIs). These indices synthesize data, often from multiple levels of biological organization, with the goal of deriving a single index that reflects the overall...
Authors
Donald R. Schoolmaster, James B. Grace, E. William Schweiger
An algorithmic and information-theoretic approach to multimetric index construction An algorithmic and information-theoretic approach to multimetric index construction
The use of multimetric indices (MMIs), such as the widely used index of biological integrity (IBI), to measure, track, summarize and infer the overall impact of human disturbance on biological communities has been steadily growing in recent years. Initially, MMIs were developed for aquatic communities using pre-selected biological metrics as indicators of system integrity. As interest in...
Authors
Donald R. Schoolmaster, James B. Grace, E. William Schweiger, Glenn R. Guntenspergen, Brian R. Mitchell, Kathryn M. Miller, Amanda M. Little
Guidelines for a graph-theoretic implementation of structural equation modeling Guidelines for a graph-theoretic implementation of structural equation modeling
Structural equation modeling (SEM) is increasingly being chosen by researchers as a framework for gaining scientific insights from the quantitative analyses of data. New ideas and methods emerging from the study of causality, influences from the field of graphical modeling, and advances in statistics are expanding the rigor, capability, and even purpose of SEM. Guidelines for...
Authors
James B. Grace, Donald R. Schoolmaster, Glenn R. Guntenspergen, Amanda M. Little, Brian R. Mitchell, Kathryn M. Miller, E. William Schweiger
Biodiversity loss and its impact on humanity Biodiversity loss and its impact on humanity
The most unique feature of Earth is the existence of life, and the most extraordinary feature of life is its diversity. Approximately 9 million types of plants, animals, protists and fungi inhabit the Earth. So, too, do 7 billion people. Two decades ago, at the first Earth Summit, the vast majority of the world's nations declared that human actions were dismantling the Earth's ecosystems
Authors
Bradley J. Cardinale, J. Emmett Duffy, Andrew Gonzalez, David U. Hooper, Charles Perrings, Patrick Venail, Anita Narwani, Georgina M. Mace, David Tilman, David A. Wardle, Ann P. Kinzig, Gretchen C. Daily, Michel Loreau, James B. Grace, Anne Larigauderie, Diane S. Srivastava, Shahid Naeem
Response to comments on "Productivity is a poor predictor of plant species richness" Response to comments on "Productivity is a poor predictor of plant species richness"
Pan et al. claim that our results actually support a strong linear positive relationship between productivity and richness, whereas Fridley et al. contend that the data support a strong humped relationship. These responses illustrate how preoccupation with bivariate patterns distracts from a deeper understanding of the multivariate mechanisms that control these important ecosystem...
Authors
James B. Grace, Peter B. Adler, Eric W. Seabloom, Elizabeth T. Borer, Helmut Hillebrand, Yann Hautier, Andy Hector, W. Stanley Harpole, Lydia R. O’Halloran, T. Michael Anderson, Jonathan D. Bakker, Cynthia S. Brown, Yvonne M. Buckley, Scott L. Collins, Kathryn L. Cottingham, Michael J. Crawley, Ellen Ingman Damschen, Kendi F. Davies, Nicole M. DeCrappeo, Philip A. Fay, Jennifer Firn, Daniel S. Gruner, Nicole Hagenah, Virginia L. Jin, Kevin P. Kirkman, Johannes M.H. Knops, Kimberly J. La Pierre, John G. Lambrinos, Brett A. Melbourne, Charles E. Mitchell, Joslin L. Moore, John W. Morgan, John L. Orrock, Suzanne M. Prover, Carly J. Stevens, Peter D. Wragg, Louie H. Yang
Effects of prescribed burning on marsh-elevation change and the risk of wetland loss Effects of prescribed burning on marsh-elevation change and the risk of wetland loss
Marsh-elevation change is the net effect of biophysical processes controlling inputs versus losses of soil volume. In many marshes, accumulation of organic matter is an important contributor to soil volume and vertical land building. In this study, we examined how prescribed burning, a common marsh-management practice, may affect elevation dynamics in the McFaddin National Wildlife...
Authors
Karen L. McKee, James B. Grace
Structural equation modeling and the analysis of long-term monitoring data Structural equation modeling and the analysis of long-term monitoring data
No abstract available.
Authors
James B. Grace, Jon E. Keeley, Darren J. Johnson, Kenneth A. Bollen
Productivity is a poor predictor of plant species richness Productivity is a poor predictor of plant species richness
For more than 30 years, the relationship between net primary productivity and species richness has generated intense debate in ecology about the processes regulating local diversity. The original view, which is still widely accepted, holds that the relationship is hump-shaped, with richness first rising and then declining with increasing productivity. Although recent meta-analyses...
Authors
Peter B. Adler, Eric W. Seabloom, Elizabeth T. Borer, Helmut Hillebrand, Yann Hautier, Andy Hector, W. Stanley Harpole, Lydia R. O’Halloran, James B. Grace, T. Michael Anderson, Jonathan D. Bakker, Lori A. Biederman, Cynthia S. Brown, Yvonne M. Buckley, Laura B. Calabrese, Cheng-Jin Chu, Elsa E. Cleland, Scott L. Collins, Kathryn L. Cottingham, Michael J. Crawley, Ellen Ingman Damschen, Kendi F. Davies, Nicole M. DeCrappeo, Philip A. Fay, Jennifer Firn, Paul Frater, Eve I. Gasarch, Daneil S. Gruner, Nicole Hagenah, Janneke Hille Ris Lambers, Hope Humphries, Virginia L. Jin, Adam D. Kay, Kevin P. Kirkman, Julia A. Klein, Johannes M.H. Knops, Kimberly J. La Pierre, John G. Lambrinos, Wei Li, Andrew S. MacDougall, Rebecca L. McCulley, Brett A. Melbourne, Charles E. Mitchell, Joslin L. Moore, John W. Morgan, Brent Mortensen, John L. Orrock, Suzanne M. Prober, David A. Pyke, Anita C. Risch, Martin Schuetz, Melinda D. Smith, Carly J. Stevens, Lauren L. Sullivan, Gang Wang, Peter D. Wragg, Justin P. Wright, Louie H. Yang
Local richness along gradients in the Siskiyou herb flora: R. H. Whittaker revisited Local richness along gradients in the Siskiyou herb flora: R. H. Whittaker revisited
In his classic study in the Siskiyou Mountains (Oregon, USA), one of the most botanically rich forested regions in North America, R. H. Whittaker (1960) foreshadowed many modern ideas on the multivariate control of local species richness along environmental gradients related to productivity. Using a structural equation model to analyze his data, which were never previously statistically...
Authors
James B. Grace, Susan Harrison, Ellen Ingman Damschen
Landscape-scale analyses suggest both nutrient and antipredator advantages to Serengeti herbivore hotspots Landscape-scale analyses suggest both nutrient and antipredator advantages to Serengeti herbivore hotspots
Mechanistic explanations of herbivore spatial distribution have focused largely on either resource‐related (bottom‐up) or predation‐related (top‐down) factors. We studied direct and indirect influences on the spatial distributions of Serengeti herbivore hotspots, defined as temporally stable areas inhabited by mixed herds of resident grazers. Remote sensing and variation in landscape...
Authors
T. Michael Anderson, J. Grant C. Hopcraft, Stephanie Eby, Mark Ritchie, James B. Grace, Han Olff
Ecological contingency in the effects of climatic warming on forest herb communities Ecological contingency in the effects of climatic warming on forest herb communities
Downscaling from the predictions of general climate models is critical to current strategies for mitigating species loss caused by climate change. A key impediment to this downscaling is that we lack a fully developed understanding of how variation in physical, biological, or land-use characteristics mediates the effects of climate change on ecological communities within regions. We...
Authors
Susan Harrison, Ellen Ingman Damschen, James B. Grace
Science and Products
Coastal Wetland Vulnerability to Climate Change and Sea-Level Rise: Understanding Ecological Thresholds and Ecosystem Transformations
Eighteen USGS coastal scientists from all four coasts of the conterminous United States are working together to advance the understanding of climate change and sea-level rise impacts to coastal wetlands.
By
California Water Science Center, Chesapeake Bay Activities, Eastern Ecological Science Center, Florence Bascom Geoscience Center, Great Lakes Science Center, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC), Western Geographic Science Center, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center , Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center
Synthesizing Surface Elevation Change Data to Advance Understanding of Sea-level Rise Impacts to Mangrove Forests and Salt Marshes
USGS and NPS partners are working together to analyze and synthesize long-term SET-MH measurements to improve understanding of coastal wetland soil elevation change and ecological responses to sea-level rise.
The Response of Coastal Wetlands to Sea-level Rise: Understanding how Macroscale Drivers Influence Local Processes and Feedbacks
The purpose of this work is to advance our understanding of how coastal wetland responses to sea-level rise (SLR) within the conterminous United States are likely to vary as a function of local, regional, and macroscale drivers, including climate. Based on our interactions with managers and decision makers, as well as our knowledge of the current state of the science, we propose to: (a) conduct a...
The response of coastal wetlands to sea-level rise: Understanding how macroscale drivers influence local processes and feedbacks
The purpose of this work is to advance our understanding of how coastal wetland responses to SLR within the conterminous United States are likely to vary as a function of local, regional, and macroscale drivers, including climate. Based on our interactions with managers and decision makers, as well as our knowledge of the current state of the science, we propose to (a) conduct a national synoptic...
Development of a Multimetric Index for Integrated Assessment of Salt Marsh Condition in the Northeast Coastal and Barrier Network
Salt marsh ecosystems along all US coastlines have been altered, degraded, and destroyed by human activities, including ditching and drainage of the marsh platform, tidal restrictions, discharge of pollutants, and introduction of invasive species. The National Park Service conducts long-term monitoring of salt marsh vegetation and nekton (fish and free-swimming crustaceans) to provide information...
Quantitative Analysis Using Structural Equation Modeling
USGS scientists have been involved for a number of years in the development and use of Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). This methodology represents an approach to statistical modeling that focuses on the study of complex cause-effect hypotheses about the mechanisms operating in systems. SEM is increasingly used in ecological and environmental studies and this site seeks to provide educational...
Improving Our Ability to Forecast Tidal Marsh Response to Sea Level Rise
Our overall objective is to understand what controls the vulnerability of coastal marshes to risks associated with global change drivers and rising sea levels. Fundamental questions pertaining to coastal wetland vulnerability still need to be addressed. What factors explain spatial and geographic variation in tidal wetland vulnerability? How do short term climatic events (storms) influence the...
Structural Equation Modeling in Support of Conservation
Understanding systems sometimes requires approaches that allow for both the discovery of the a system's structure and the estimation of its implications. Structural Equation Modeling - SEM - is one tool scientists use to better understand the complex world in which we live.
Mechanisms of Coastal Marsh Elevation Regulation
Sediment deposition serves an important role in the long-term maintenance of coastal marshes. USGS investigates the mechanisms of coastal marsh elevation regulation to help predict marsh sediment requirements under various sea level rise scenarios.
Filter Total Items: 188
Structural equation modeling and the analysis of long-term monitoring data Structural equation modeling and the analysis of long-term monitoring data
The analysis of long-term monitoring data is increasingly important; not only for the discovery and documentation of changes in environmental systems, but also as an enterprise whose fruits validate the allocation of effort and scarce funds to monitoring. In simple terms, we may distinguish between the detection of change in some ecosystem attribute versus the investigation of causes and
Authors
James B. Grace, Jon E. Keeley, Darren Johnson, A Kenneth Bollen
A general theory of multimetric indices and their properties A general theory of multimetric indices and their properties
1. Stewardship of biological and ecological resources requires the ability to make integrative assessments of ecological integrity. One of the emerging methods for making such integrative assessments is multimetric indices (MMIs). These indices synthesize data, often from multiple levels of biological organization, with the goal of deriving a single index that reflects the overall...
Authors
Donald R. Schoolmaster, James B. Grace, E. William Schweiger
An algorithmic and information-theoretic approach to multimetric index construction An algorithmic and information-theoretic approach to multimetric index construction
The use of multimetric indices (MMIs), such as the widely used index of biological integrity (IBI), to measure, track, summarize and infer the overall impact of human disturbance on biological communities has been steadily growing in recent years. Initially, MMIs were developed for aquatic communities using pre-selected biological metrics as indicators of system integrity. As interest in...
Authors
Donald R. Schoolmaster, James B. Grace, E. William Schweiger, Glenn R. Guntenspergen, Brian R. Mitchell, Kathryn M. Miller, Amanda M. Little
Guidelines for a graph-theoretic implementation of structural equation modeling Guidelines for a graph-theoretic implementation of structural equation modeling
Structural equation modeling (SEM) is increasingly being chosen by researchers as a framework for gaining scientific insights from the quantitative analyses of data. New ideas and methods emerging from the study of causality, influences from the field of graphical modeling, and advances in statistics are expanding the rigor, capability, and even purpose of SEM. Guidelines for...
Authors
James B. Grace, Donald R. Schoolmaster, Glenn R. Guntenspergen, Amanda M. Little, Brian R. Mitchell, Kathryn M. Miller, E. William Schweiger
Biodiversity loss and its impact on humanity Biodiversity loss and its impact on humanity
The most unique feature of Earth is the existence of life, and the most extraordinary feature of life is its diversity. Approximately 9 million types of plants, animals, protists and fungi inhabit the Earth. So, too, do 7 billion people. Two decades ago, at the first Earth Summit, the vast majority of the world's nations declared that human actions were dismantling the Earth's ecosystems
Authors
Bradley J. Cardinale, J. Emmett Duffy, Andrew Gonzalez, David U. Hooper, Charles Perrings, Patrick Venail, Anita Narwani, Georgina M. Mace, David Tilman, David A. Wardle, Ann P. Kinzig, Gretchen C. Daily, Michel Loreau, James B. Grace, Anne Larigauderie, Diane S. Srivastava, Shahid Naeem
Response to comments on "Productivity is a poor predictor of plant species richness" Response to comments on "Productivity is a poor predictor of plant species richness"
Pan et al. claim that our results actually support a strong linear positive relationship between productivity and richness, whereas Fridley et al. contend that the data support a strong humped relationship. These responses illustrate how preoccupation with bivariate patterns distracts from a deeper understanding of the multivariate mechanisms that control these important ecosystem...
Authors
James B. Grace, Peter B. Adler, Eric W. Seabloom, Elizabeth T. Borer, Helmut Hillebrand, Yann Hautier, Andy Hector, W. Stanley Harpole, Lydia R. O’Halloran, T. Michael Anderson, Jonathan D. Bakker, Cynthia S. Brown, Yvonne M. Buckley, Scott L. Collins, Kathryn L. Cottingham, Michael J. Crawley, Ellen Ingman Damschen, Kendi F. Davies, Nicole M. DeCrappeo, Philip A. Fay, Jennifer Firn, Daniel S. Gruner, Nicole Hagenah, Virginia L. Jin, Kevin P. Kirkman, Johannes M.H. Knops, Kimberly J. La Pierre, John G. Lambrinos, Brett A. Melbourne, Charles E. Mitchell, Joslin L. Moore, John W. Morgan, John L. Orrock, Suzanne M. Prover, Carly J. Stevens, Peter D. Wragg, Louie H. Yang
Effects of prescribed burning on marsh-elevation change and the risk of wetland loss Effects of prescribed burning on marsh-elevation change and the risk of wetland loss
Marsh-elevation change is the net effect of biophysical processes controlling inputs versus losses of soil volume. In many marshes, accumulation of organic matter is an important contributor to soil volume and vertical land building. In this study, we examined how prescribed burning, a common marsh-management practice, may affect elevation dynamics in the McFaddin National Wildlife...
Authors
Karen L. McKee, James B. Grace
Structural equation modeling and the analysis of long-term monitoring data Structural equation modeling and the analysis of long-term monitoring data
No abstract available.
Authors
James B. Grace, Jon E. Keeley, Darren J. Johnson, Kenneth A. Bollen
Productivity is a poor predictor of plant species richness Productivity is a poor predictor of plant species richness
For more than 30 years, the relationship between net primary productivity and species richness has generated intense debate in ecology about the processes regulating local diversity. The original view, which is still widely accepted, holds that the relationship is hump-shaped, with richness first rising and then declining with increasing productivity. Although recent meta-analyses...
Authors
Peter B. Adler, Eric W. Seabloom, Elizabeth T. Borer, Helmut Hillebrand, Yann Hautier, Andy Hector, W. Stanley Harpole, Lydia R. O’Halloran, James B. Grace, T. Michael Anderson, Jonathan D. Bakker, Lori A. Biederman, Cynthia S. Brown, Yvonne M. Buckley, Laura B. Calabrese, Cheng-Jin Chu, Elsa E. Cleland, Scott L. Collins, Kathryn L. Cottingham, Michael J. Crawley, Ellen Ingman Damschen, Kendi F. Davies, Nicole M. DeCrappeo, Philip A. Fay, Jennifer Firn, Paul Frater, Eve I. Gasarch, Daneil S. Gruner, Nicole Hagenah, Janneke Hille Ris Lambers, Hope Humphries, Virginia L. Jin, Adam D. Kay, Kevin P. Kirkman, Julia A. Klein, Johannes M.H. Knops, Kimberly J. La Pierre, John G. Lambrinos, Wei Li, Andrew S. MacDougall, Rebecca L. McCulley, Brett A. Melbourne, Charles E. Mitchell, Joslin L. Moore, John W. Morgan, Brent Mortensen, John L. Orrock, Suzanne M. Prober, David A. Pyke, Anita C. Risch, Martin Schuetz, Melinda D. Smith, Carly J. Stevens, Lauren L. Sullivan, Gang Wang, Peter D. Wragg, Justin P. Wright, Louie H. Yang
Local richness along gradients in the Siskiyou herb flora: R. H. Whittaker revisited Local richness along gradients in the Siskiyou herb flora: R. H. Whittaker revisited
In his classic study in the Siskiyou Mountains (Oregon, USA), one of the most botanically rich forested regions in North America, R. H. Whittaker (1960) foreshadowed many modern ideas on the multivariate control of local species richness along environmental gradients related to productivity. Using a structural equation model to analyze his data, which were never previously statistically...
Authors
James B. Grace, Susan Harrison, Ellen Ingman Damschen
Landscape-scale analyses suggest both nutrient and antipredator advantages to Serengeti herbivore hotspots Landscape-scale analyses suggest both nutrient and antipredator advantages to Serengeti herbivore hotspots
Mechanistic explanations of herbivore spatial distribution have focused largely on either resource‐related (bottom‐up) or predation‐related (top‐down) factors. We studied direct and indirect influences on the spatial distributions of Serengeti herbivore hotspots, defined as temporally stable areas inhabited by mixed herds of resident grazers. Remote sensing and variation in landscape...
Authors
T. Michael Anderson, J. Grant C. Hopcraft, Stephanie Eby, Mark Ritchie, James B. Grace, Han Olff
Ecological contingency in the effects of climatic warming on forest herb communities Ecological contingency in the effects of climatic warming on forest herb communities
Downscaling from the predictions of general climate models is critical to current strategies for mitigating species loss caused by climate change. A key impediment to this downscaling is that we lack a fully developed understanding of how variation in physical, biological, or land-use characteristics mediates the effects of climate change on ecological communities within regions. We...
Authors
Susan Harrison, Ellen Ingman Damschen, James B. Grace