James Grace, Ph.D.
Senior Research Scientist
Biography
EDUCATION
Ph.D., Michigan State University
M.S., Clemson University
B.S., Biology, Presbyterian College
BACKGROUND
2015 - present Senior Research Scientist. U.S. Geological Survey, ST
2002 - 2014 Senior Research Ecologist, U.S. Geological Survey, GS-15
1993 - present Adjunct Professor, Department of Biology, University of Louisiana
2002 - present Affiliate Faculty, School of Renewable Natural Resources, LSU
1992 - 2002 Research Ecologist, U.S. Geological Survey, Biological Division
1990 - 1993 Professor, Department of Botany, Louisiana State University
1985 - 1990 Associate Professor, Department of Botany, Louisiana State Univ.
1989 Visiting Professor, Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium
1986 Visiting Scientist, Div. Wildlife, CSIRO, Darwin, Australia
1980‑1985 Assistant Professor, Dept. Botany and Microbiology, Univ. Arkansas summer
1980 Assistant Professor, Kellogg Biological Station, Michigan State Univ.
After graduate school, he held faculty positions at the University of Arkansas and Louisiana State University, where he reached the level of Full Professor. He currently holds an Adjunct Professorship in Biology at the University of Louisiana in Lafayette. In 2000, he received the millennium Meritorious Research Award from the Society of Wetland Scientists and in 2003 received the National Science Excellence Award from the U.S. Geological Survey. He was selected to be a Fellow of the Ecological Society of America and promoted to the Senior Scientist ranks in 2014. He has published over 200 papers and reports, including 3 books, one on competitive interactions, one on community analysis, and one on structural equation modeling.
Latest news releases related to our work (last 7 yrs):
Gabler, Osland, and Grace et al. 2016 featured in two press releases:
https://www.usgs.gov/news/changes-rainfall-temperature-expected-transform-coastal-wetlands-century
Grace et al. 2016 Nature Paper one of the Top 5% of Science Stories of 2016. According to Altmetric, our work was among the top science stories of the year in 2016 (http://nature.altmetric.com/details/4987997). The article was featured in 12 science news articles and discussed in 5 blogs, in addition to being featured in Nature Magazine (http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nature16867.html).
Editor's Choice Award, Landscape and Urban Planning (2016). Also featured in The Atlantic: http://www.citylab.com/commute/2016/01/sprawl-social-mobility-ewing-chetty-krugman/431535/
Promoted to Senior Executive Service- Senior Scientist (2015): http://internal.usgs.gov/thecore/news/2015/03/16/announcing-our-newest-senior-scientists/
Elected Fellow of the Ecological Society of America (2014): http://www.usgs.gov/newsroom/article.asp?ID=3966
The Great Productivity-Diversity Debate: http://1560811.mediaspace.kaltura.com/media/James+Grace+pt+1/0_yy2jc1c3/...
Recommended Reading by Faculty of 1000 (2014): http://f1000.com/prime/717961256?bd=1
Nature (2013): http://www.nature.com/news/world-governments-establish-biodiversity-pane...
News Coverage (2013): http://www.nola.com/environment/index.ssf/2013/04/louisiana_seafood_heal...
USGS News Releases (2013): http://www.usgs.gov/newsroom/article.asp?ID=3544#.UVr1J7KPW8A
Science Perspectives piece (2011): http://www.sciencemag.org/content/333/6050/1709.full
National Science Foundation press release (2011): http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=121691&org=DEB&from=news
USGS News Release (2010): http://www.usgs.gov/newsroom/article.asp?ID=2619
Press (2010): http://www.examiner.com/liberal-in-national/study-climate-change-adverse...
News (2010): http://www.climatecentral.org/breaking/blog/climate_in_context_a_60_year...
Conservation Maven (2010): http://www.conservationmaven.com/frontpage/predicting-the-performance-of...
USGS Genetics Program News Pick (2010): http://biology.usgs.gov/genetics_genomics/spotlight_2010.html
For more news and information, search 'Jim Grace USGS'.
List of publications can be found at my Google Scholar Profile: http://scholar.google.com/citations?user=53SGwowAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao
Training website for structural equation modeling: https://www.usgs.gov/centers/wetland-and-aquatic-research-center/science...
Science and Products
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...
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...
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...
Hurricane Sandy impacts on coastal wetland resilience
The goal of this research was to evaluate the impacts of Hurricane Sandy on surface elevation trends in estuarine marshes located across the northeast region of the United States from Virginia to Maine using data from an opportunistic (in other words, not strategic) and collaborative network (from here on, an opportunistic network) of surface...
Cahoon, Donald R.; Olker, Jennifer H.; Yeates, Alice G.; Guntenspergen, Glenn R.; Grace, James B.; Adamowicz, Susan C.; Anisfeld, Shimon C.; Baldwin, Andrew H.; Barrett, Nels; Beckett, Leah; Benzecry, Alice; Blum, Linda K.; Burdick, David M.; Crouch, William; Ekberg, Marci Cole; Fernald, Sarah; Grimes, Kristin Wilson; Grzyb, Joseph; Hartig, Ellen Kracauer; Kreeger, Danielle A.; Larson, Marit; Lerberg, Scott; Lynch, James C.; Maher, Nicole; Maxwell-Doyle, Martha; Mitchell, Laura R.; Mora, Jordan; O'Neill, Victoria; Padeletti, Angela; Prosser, Diann J.; Quirk, Tracy; Raposa, Kenneth B.; Reay, William G.; Siok, Drexel; Snow, Christopher; Starke, Adam; Stevenson, J. Court; Staver, Lorie; Turner, Vincent
The plant diversity sampling design for The National Ecological Observatory Network
The National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) is designed to facilitate an understanding of the impact of environmental change on ecological systems. Observations of plant diversity—responsive to changes in climate, disturbance, and land use, and ecologically linked to soil, biogeochemistry, and organisms—result in NEON data products that...
Barnett, David T.; Adler, Peter B.; Chemel, Benjamin R.; Duffy, Paul A.; Enquist, Brian J.; Grace, James B.; Harrison, Susan P.; Peet, Robert K.; Schimel, David S.; Stohlgren, Thomas J.; Vellend, Mark Climate and plant controls on soil organic matter in coastal wetlands
Coastal wetlands are among the most productive and carbon‐rich ecosystems on Earth. Long‐term carbon storage in coastal wetlands occurs primarily belowground as soil organic matter (SOM). In addition to serving as a carbon sink, SOM influences wetland ecosystem structure, function, and stability. To anticipate and mitigate the effects of climate...
Osland, Michael J.; Gabler, Christopher A.; Grace, James B.; Day, Richard H.; McCoy, Meagan L.; McLeod, Jennie L.; From, Andrew S.; Enwright, Nicholas M.; Feher, Laura C.; Stagg, Camille L.; Hartley, Stephen B. Quantifying relative importance: Computing standardized effects in models with binary outcomes
Scientists commonly ask questions about the relative importances of processes, and then turn to statistical models for answers. Standardized coefficients are typically used in such situations, with the goal being to compare effects on a common scale. Traditional approaches to obtaining standardized coefficients were developed with idealized...
Grace, James B.; Johnson, Darren; Lefcheck, Jonathan S.; Byrnes, Jarrett E.K. Associations between urban sprawl and life expectancy in the United States
In recent years, the United States has had a relatively poor performance with respect to life expectancy compared to the other developed nations. Urban sprawl is one of the potential causes of the high rate of mortality in the United States. This study investigated cross-sectional associations between sprawl and life expectancy for metropolitan...
Hamidi, Shima; Ewing, Reid; Tatalovich, Zaria; Grace, James B.; Berrigan, David Herbivory and eutrophication mediate grassland plant nutrient responses across a global climatic gradient
Plant stoichiometry, the relative concentration of elements, is a key regulator of ecosystem functioning and is also being altered by human activities. In this paper we sought to understand the global drivers of plant stoichiometry and compare the relative contribution of climatic vs. anthropogenic effects. We addressed this goal by measuring...
Anderson, T. Michael; Griffith, Daniel M.; Grace, James B.; Lind, Eric M.; Adler, Peter B.; Biederman, Lori A.; Blumenthal, Dana M.; Daleo, Pedro; Firn, Jennifer; Hagenah, Nicole; Harpole, W. Stanley; MacDougall, Andrew S.; McCulley, Rebecca L.; Prober, Suzanne M.; Risch, Anita C.; Sankaran, Mahesh; Schütz, Martin; Seabloom, Eric W.; Stevens, Carly J.; Sullivan, Lauren; Wragg, Peter; Borer, Elizabeth T. Context-dependent interactions and the regulation of species richness in freshwater fish
Species richness is regulated by a complex network of scale-dependent processes. This complexity can obscure the influence of limiting species interactions, making it difficult to determine if abiotic or biotic drivers are more predominant regulators of richness. Using integrative modeling of freshwater fish richness from 721 lakes along an...
MacDougall, Andrew S.; Harvey, Eric; McCune, Jenny L.; Nilsson, Karin A.; Bennett, Joseph; Firn, Jennifer; Bartley, Timothy; Grace, James B.; Kelly, Jocelyn; Tunney, Tyler D.; McMeans, Bailey C.; Matsuzaki, Shin-Ichiro S.; Kadoya, Taku; Esch, Ellen; Cazelles, Kevin; Lester, Nigel; McCann, Kevin S. Development of a multimetric index for integrated assessment of salt marsh ecosystem condition
Tools for assessing and communicating salt marsh condition are essential to guide decisions aimed at maintaining or restoring ecosystem integrity and services. Multimetric indices (MMIs) are increasingly used to provide integrated assessments of ecosystem condition. We employed a theory-based approach that considers the multivariate relationship...
Nagel, Jessica L.; Neckles, Hilary A.; Guntenspergen, Glenn R.; Rocks, Erika N.; Schoolmaster, Donald; Grace, James B.; Skidds, Dennis E.; Stevens, Sara Linear and nonlinear effects of temperature and precipitation on ecosystem properties in tidal saline wetlands
Climate greatly influences the structure and functioning of tidal saline wetland ecosystems. However, there is a need to better quantify the effects of climatic drivers on ecosystem properties, particularly near climate-sensitive ecological transition zones. Here, we used climate- and literature-derived ecological data from tidal saline wetlands...
Feher, Laura C.; Osland, Michael J.; Griffith, Kereen T.; Grace, James B.; Howard, Rebecca J.; Stagg, Camille L.; Enwright, Nicholas M.; Krauss, Ken W.; Gabler, Christopher A.; Day, Richard H.; Rogers, Kerrylee Fatal attraction? Intraguild facilitation and suppression among predators
Competition and suppression are recognized as dominant forces that structure predator communities. Facilitation via carrion provisioning, however, is a ubiquitous interaction among predators that could offset the strength of suppression. Understanding the relative importance of these positive and negative interactions is necessary to anticipate...
Sivy, Kelly J.; Pozzanghera, Casey B.; Grace, James B.; Prugh, Laura R. The interacting roles of climate, soils, and plant production on soil microbial communities at a continental scale
Soil microbial communities control critical ecosystem processes such as decomposition, nutrient cycling, and soil organic matter formation. Continental scale patterns in the composition and functioning of microbial communities are related to climatic, biotic, and edaphic factors such as temperature and precipitation, plant community composition,...
Waldrop, Mark P.; Holloway, JoAnn M.; Smith, David B.; Goldhaber, Martin B.; Drenovsky, R.E.; Scow, K.M.; Dick, R.; Howard, Daniel M.; Wylie, Bruce K.; Grace, James B. Response of bird community structure to habitat management in piñon-juniper woodland-sagebrush ecotones
Piñon (Pinus spp.) and juniper (Juniperus spp.) woodlands have been expanding their range across the intermountain western United States into landscapes dominated by sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) shrublands. Management actions using prescribed fire and mechanical cutting to reduce woodland cover and control expansion provided opportunities to...
Knick, Steven T.; Hanser, Steven E.; Grace, James B.; Hollenbeck, Jeff P.; Leu, Matthias
Biodiversity Critical to Maintaining Healthy Ecosystems
Researchers have found clear evidence that biological communities rich in species are substantially healthier and more productive than those depleted of species.