James Grace, Ph.D.
James Grace is a Senior Research Scientist at the USGS Wetland and Aquatic Research Center.
BACKGROUND
2015 - present Senior Research Scientist. U.S. Geological Survey, ST
2002 - 2014 Senior Research Ecologist, U.S. Geological Survey, GS-15
1993 - 2019 Adjunct Professor, Department of Biology, University of Louisiana
2002 – 2005 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
After graduate school, he held faculty positions at the University of Arkansas and Louisiana State University, where he reached the level of Full Professor. 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. Since 2019 he has been designated as a ‘Highly-Cited Researcher’ by the Web of Science in recognition of his scientific impact during the past decade. In 2021 he received the Presidential Rank Award, which is given out by the President of the United States and is the highest performance award given to career senior scientists and administrators. 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. As of 2020, Grace has given over 200 invited lectures and workshops in 9 countries during his career.
For more information, search 'Jim Grace USGS'.
Education and Certifications
Ph.D., Michigan State University
M.S., Clemson University
B.S., Biology, Presbyterian College
Science and Products
Response of bird community structure to habitat management in piñon-juniper woodland-sagebrush ecotones
Is biotic resistance enhanced by natural variation in diversity?
A decade of insights into grassland ecosystem responses to global environmental change
Macroclimatic change expected to transform coastal wetland ecosystems this century
Signals of impending change
Climatic controls on the global distribution, abundance, and species richness of mangrove forests
Using structural equation modeling to link human activities to wetland ecological integrity
Does urban sprawl hold down upward mobility?
Disentangling vegetation diversity from climate–energy and habitat heterogeneity for explaining animal geographic patterns
Comment on "Worldwide evidence of a unimodal relationship between productivity and plant species richness"
Integrative modelling reveals mechanisms linking productivity and plant species richness
Urban sprawl as a risk factor in motor vehicle crashes
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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 understand how environmental structure and changes due toAuthorsSteven T. Knick, Steve E. Hanser, James B. Grace, Jeff P. Hollenbeck, Matthias LeuIs biotic resistance enhanced by natural variation in diversity?
Theories linking diversity to ecosystem function have been challenged by the widespread observation of more exotic species in more diverse native communities. Few studies have addressed the underlying processes by dissecting how biotic resistance to new invaders may be shaped by the same environmental influences that determine diversity and other community properties.In grasslands with heterogeneoAuthorsJames B. Grace, Susan P. Harrison, Howard CornellA decade of insights into grassland ecosystem responses to global environmental change
Earth’s biodiversity and carbon uptake by plants, or primary productivity, are intricately interlinked, underlie many essential ecosystem processes, and depend on the interplay among environmental factors, many of which are being changed by human activities. While ecological theory generalizes across taxa and environments, most empirical tests of factors controlling diversity and productivity haveAuthorsElizabeth T. Borer, James B. Grace, W. Stanley Harpole, Andrew S. MacDougall, Eric W. SeabloomMacroclimatic change expected to transform coastal wetland ecosystems this century
Coastal wetlands, existing at the interface between land and sea, are highly vulnerable to climate change. Macroclimate (for example, temperature and precipitation regimes) greatly influences coastal wetland ecosystem structure and function. However, research on climate change impacts in coastal wetlands has concentrated primarily on sea-level rise and largely ignored macroclimatic drivers, despitAuthorsChristopher A. Gabler, Michael J. Osland, James B. Grace, Camille L. Stagg, Richard H. Day, Stephen B. Hartley, Nicholas M. Enwright, Andrew From, Meagan L. McCoy, Jennie L. McLeodSignals of impending change
Society has an increasing awareness that there are finite limits to what we can expect the planet to absorb and still provide goods and services at current rates1. Both historical reconstructions and contemporary events continue to remind us that ecological regime changes are often abrupt rather than gradual. This reality motivates researchers who seek to discover leading indicators for impendingAuthorsJames B. GraceClimatic controls on the global distribution, abundance, and species richness of mangrove forests
Mangrove forests are highly productive tidal saline wetland ecosystems found along sheltered tropical and subtropical coasts. Ecologists have long assumed that climatic drivers (i.e., temperature and rainfall regimes) govern the global distribution, structure, and function of mangrove forests. However, data constraints have hindered the quantification of direct climate-mangrove linkages in many paAuthorsMichael J. Osland, Laura C. Feher, Kereen Griffith, Kyle C. Cavanaugh, Nicholas M. Enwright, Richard H. Day, Camille L. Stagg, Ken W. Krauss, Rebecca J. Howard, James B. Grace, Kerrylee RogersUsing structural equation modeling to link human activities to wetland ecological integrity
The integrity of wetlands is of global concern. A common approach to evaluating ecological integrity involves bioassessment procedures that quantify the degree to which communities deviate from historical norms. While helpful, bioassessment provides little information about how altered conditions connect to community response. More detailed information is needed for conservation and restoration. WAuthorsE. William Schweiger, James B. Grace, David Cooper, Ben Bobowski, Mike BrittenDoes urban sprawl hold down upward mobility?
Contrary to the general perception, the United States has a much more class-bound society than other wealthy countries. The chance of upward mobility for Americans is just half that of the citizens of the Denmark and many other European countries. In addition to other influences, the built environment may contribute to the low rate of upward mobility in the U.S. This study tests the relationship bAuthorsR. Ewing, Shima Hamidi, James B. Grace, Y. WeiDisentangling vegetation diversity from climate–energy and habitat heterogeneity for explaining animal geographic patterns
Broad-scale animal diversity patterns have been traditionally explained by hypotheses focused on climate–energy and habitat heterogeneity, without considering the direct influence of vegetation structure and composition. However, integrating these factors when considering plant–animal correlates still poses a major challenge because plant communities are controlled by abiotic factors that may, atAuthorsBorja Jimenez-Alfaro, Milan Chytry, Ladislav Mucina, James B. Grace, Marcel RejmanekComment on "Worldwide evidence of a unimodal relationship between productivity and plant species richness"
Fraser et al. (Reports, 17 July 2015, p. 302) report a unimodal relationship between productivity and species richness at regional and global scales, which they contrast with the results of Adler et al. (Reports, 23 September 2011, p. 1750). However, both data sets, when analyzed correctly, show clearly and consistently that productivity is a poor predictor of local species richness.AuthorsAndrew T. Tredennick, Peter B. Adler, James B. Grace, W Stanley Harpole, Elizabeth T. Borer, Eric W. Seabloom, T. Michael Anderson, Jonathan D. Bakker, Lori A. Biederman, Cynthia S. Brown, Yvonne M. Buckley, Cheng-Jin Chu, Scott L. Collins, Michael J. Crawley, Philip A. Fay, Jennifer Firn, Daniel S. Gruner, Nicole Hagenah, Yann Hautier, Andy Hector, Helmut Hillebrand, Kevin P. Kirkman, Johannes M. H. Knops, Ramesh Laungani, Eric M. Lind, Andrew S. MacDougall, Rebecca L. McCulley, Charles E. Mitchell, Joslin L. Moore, John W. Morgan, John L. Orrock, Pablo L. Peri, Suzanne M. Prober, Anita C. Risch, Martin Schuetz, Karina L. Speziale, Rachel J. Standish, Lauren L. Sullivan, Glenda M. Wardle, Ryan J. Williams, Louie H. YangIntegrative modelling reveals mechanisms linking productivity and plant species richness
How ecosystem productivity and species richness are interrelated is one of the most debated subjects in the history of ecology. Decades of intensive study have yet to discern the actual mechanisms behind observed global patterns. Here, by integrating the predictions from multiple theories into a single model and using data from 1,126 grassland plots spanning five continents, we detect the clear siAuthorsJames B. Grace, T. Michael Anderson, Eric W. Seabloom, Elizabeth T. Borer, Peter B. Adler, W Stanley Harpole, Yann Hautier, Helmut Hillebrand, Eric M. Lind, Meelis Partel, Jonathan D. Bakker, Yvonne M. Buckley, Michael J. Crawley, Ellen Ingman Damschen, Kendi F. Davies, Philip A. Fay, Jennifer Firn, Daniel S. Gruner, Andy Hector, Johannes M.H. Knops, Andrew S. MacDougall, Brett A. Melbourne, John W. Morgan, John L. Orrock, Suzanne M. Prober, Melinda D. SmithUrban sprawl as a risk factor in motor vehicle crashes
A decade ago, compactness/sprawl indices were developed for metropolitan areas and counties which have been widely used in health and other research. In this study, we first update the original county index to 2010, then develop a refined index that accounts for more relevant factors, and finally seek to test the relationship between sprawl and traffic crash rates using structural equation modelliAuthorsReid Ewing, Shima Hamidi, James B. Grace - News