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
Patterns of resource allocation in a coastal marsh plant (Schoenoplectus americanus) along a sediment-addition gradient
Hurricane Sandy impacts on coastal wetland resilience
The plant diversity sampling design for The National Ecological Observatory Network
Climate and plant controls on soil organic matter in coastal wetlands
Quantifying relative importance: Computing standardized effects in models with binary outcomes
Associations between urban sprawl and life expectancy in the United States
Herbivory and eutrophication mediate grassland plant nutrient responses across a global climatic gradient
Context-dependent interactions and the regulation of species richness in freshwater fish
Development of a multimetric index for integrated assessment of salt marsh ecosystem condition
Linear and nonlinear effects of temperature and precipitation on ecosystem properties in tidal saline wetlands
Fatal attraction? Intraguild facilitation and suppression among predators
The interacting roles of climate, soils, and plant production on soil microbial communities at a continental scale
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Patterns of resource allocation in a coastal marsh plant (Schoenoplectus americanus) along a sediment-addition gradient
Reductions in sediment delivery to coastal marshes increase their vulnerability to relative sea-level rise. Sediment pulses from storm events and commercial dredge-spray operations (e.g., beneficial use) represent increasingly important sediment sources to otherwise sediment-deprived marshes. These sediments can stimulate plant growth by providing nutrient and elevation subsidies, with plant growtAuthorsNigel A. Temple, James B. Grace, Julia A CherryHurricane 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 elevation table-marker horizon (SET-MH) stations. FirstAuthorsDonald R. Cahoon, Jennifer H. Olker, Alice G. Yeates, Glenn R. Guntenspergen, James B. Grace, Susan C. Adamowicz, Shimon C. Anisfeld, Andrew H. Baldwin, Nels Barrett, Leah Beckett, Alice Benzecry, Linda K. Blum, David M. Burdick, William Crouch, Marci Cole Ekberg, Sarah Fernald, Kristin Wilson Grimes, Joseph Grzyb, Ellen Kracauer Hartig, Danielle A. Kreeger, Marit Larson, Scott Lerberg, James C. Lynch, Nicole Maher, Martha Maxwell-Doyle, Laura R. Mitchell, Jordan Mora, Victoria O'Neill, Angela Padeletti, Diann J. Prosser, Tracy Quirk, Kenneth B. Raposa, William G. Reay, Drexel Siok, Christopher Snow, Adam Starke, J. Court Stevenson, Lorie Staver, Vincent TurnerThe 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 cross a range of organizational levels. Collections inAuthorsDavid T. Barnett, Peter B. Adler, Benjamin R. Chemel, Paul A. Duffy, Brian J. Enquist, James B. Grace, Susan P. Harrison, Robert K. Peet, David S. Schimel, Thomas J. Stohlgren, Mark VellendClimate 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 change, there is a need to advance understanding ofAuthorsMichael J. Osland, Christopher A. Gabler, James B. Grace, Richard H. Day, Meagan L. McCoy, Jennie L. McLeod, Andrew S. From, Nicholas M. Enwright, Laura C. Feher, Camille L. Stagg, Stephen B. HartleyQuantifying 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 Gaussian variables in mind. When responses are binary, coAuthorsJames B. Grace, Darren Johnson, Jonathan S. Lefcheck, Jarrett E. K. ByrnesAssociations 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 counties in the United States in 2010. In this study,AuthorsShima Hamidi, Reid Ewing, Zaria Tatalovich, James B. Grace, David BerriganHerbivory 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 plant elemental (C, N, P and K) responses to eutrophicaAuthorsT. Michael Anderson, Daniel M. Griffith, James B. Grace, Eric M. Lind, Peter B. Adler, Lori A. Biederman, Dana M. Blumenthal, Pedro Daleo, Jennifer Firn, Nicole Hagenah, W. Stanley Harpole, Andrew S. MacDougall, Rebecca L. McCulley, Suzanne M. Prober, Anita C. Risch, Mahesh Sankaran, Martin Schütz, Eric W. Seabloom, Carly J. Stevens, Lauren Sullivan, Peter Wragg, Elizabeth T. BorerContext-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 11olatitudinal gradient, we find negative interactions toAuthorsAndrew S. MacDougall, Eric Harvey, Jenny L. McCune, Karin A. Nilsson, Joseph Bennett, Jennifer Firn, Timothy Bartley, James B. Grace, Jocelyn Kelly, Tyler D. Tunney, Bailey C. McMeans, Shin-Ichiro S. Matsuzaki, Taku Kadoya, Ellen Esch, Kevin Cazelles, Nigel Lester, Kevin S. McCannDevelopment 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 of metrics with human disturbance to construct a salAuthorsJessica L. Nagel, Hilary A. Neckles, Glenn R. Guntenspergen, Erika N. Rocks, Donald Schoolmaster, James B. Grace, Dennis E. Skidds, Sara StevensLinear 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 to test hypotheses regarding the influence of climatAuthorsLaura C. Feher, Michael J. Osland, Kereen T. Griffith, James B. Grace, Rebecca J. Howard, Camille L. Stagg, Nicholas M. Enwright, Ken W. Krauss, Christopher A. Gabler, Richard H. Day, Kerrylee RogersFatal 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 community-wide responses to apex predator declines anAuthorsKelly J. Sivy, Casey B. Pozzanghera, James B. Grace, Laura R. PrughThe 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, and soil carbon, nitrogen, and pH. Although these reAuthorsMark P. Waldrop, JoAnn M. Holloway, David B. Smith, Martin B. Goldhaber, R. E. Drenovsky, K. M. Scow, R. Dick, Daniel M. Howard, Bruce K. Wylie, James B. GraceByEcosystems Mission Area, Energy and Minerals Mission Area, Climate Research and Development Program, Energy Resources Program, Land Change Science Program, Mineral Resources Program, National Laboratories Program, Science and Decisions Center, Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center , Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center - News