James Grace

RESEARCH ECOLOGIST

Short Biography

Jim Grace obtained his B.S. in Biology from Presbyterian College in South Carolina, his M.S. from Clemson University, and his Ph.D. from Michigan State University. 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 has published over 150 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 can be found at:

Recommended Reading by Faculty of 1000: http://f1000.com/prime/717961256?bd=1  
Nature News: http://www.nature.com/news/world-governments-establish-biodiversity-panel-1.10505?WT.ec_id=NEWS-20120424  
Recent Press: http://www.nola.com/environment/index.ssf/2013/04/louisiana_seafood_healthier_du.html 
USGS News Release: http://www.usgs.gov/newsroom/article.asp?ID=3544#.UVr1J7KPW8A  
 

Publications

Somers, K.A., Bernhardt, E.S., Grace, J.B., Hassett, B.A., Sudduth, E.B., Wang, S., and Urban, D.L. 2013. Streams in the urban heat island: Spatial and temporal variability in temperature. Freshwater Science 32:309-326. [Link]

de Mazencourt, C., Isbell, F., Larocque, A., Berendse, F., De Luca, E., Grace, J.B., Haegeman, B., Polley, H.W., Roscher, C., Schmid, R., Tilman, D., van Ruijven, J., Weiglt, A., Wilsen, B.J., and Loreau. M. 2013. Predicting ecosystem stability from community composition and biodiversity. Ecology Letters 16:617-625. [Link]

Whalen, M.A., Duffy, J.E. and Grace, J.B. 2013. Temporal shifts in top-down versus bottom-up control of epiphytic algae in a seagrass ecosystem. Ecology 94:510-520. [Link]

Reisner, M.D., Grace, J.B., Pyke, D.A., Doescher, P.S. 2013. Conditions favoring Bromus tectorum dominance of endangered sagebrush seppe ecosystems. Journal of Applied Ecology doi:10.1111/1365-2664.12097. [Link]

Dettweiler-Robinson, E., Bakker, J.D., and Grace, J.B. 2013. Controls of biological soil crust cover and composition shift with succession in sagebrush shrub-steppe. Journal of Arid Environments. 94:96-104. [Link]

Mitchell, B.R., Tierney, G.L., Schweiger, E.W., Miller, K.M., Faber-Langendoen, D. and Grace, J.B. in press. Getting the message across: Using ecological integrity to communicate with resource managers. In: In: Guntenspergen, G.R. (ed.) Application of Threshold Concepts in Natural Resource Decision Making. Springer Verlag.

Schoolmaster, D.R. Jr., Grace, J.B., Schweiger, E.W., Mitchell, B.R., and Guntenspergen, G.R. 2013. A causal examination of the effects of confounding factors on multimetric indices. Ecological Indicators 29:411-419. [Link]

Chen, D., Lan, Z., Bai, X., Grace, J.B., and Bai, Y. 2013. Evidence that acidification-induced declines in plant diversity and productivity are mediated by changes in below-ground communities and soil properties in a semi-arid steppe grassland. Journal of Ecology (in press)

Chen, D., Lan, Z., Bai, X., Grace, J.B., and Bai, Y. 2013. Evidence that acidification-induced declines in plant diversity and productivity are mediated by changes in below-ground communities and soil properties in a semi-arid steppe grassland. Journal of Ecology (in press)

Schoolmaster, D.R. Jr., Grace, J.B., Schweiger, E.W., Guntenspergen, G.R., Mitchell, B.R., Miller, K.M., and Little, A.M., 2012. An algorithmic and information-theoretic approach to multimetric index construction. Ecological Indicators 23: 14-23. [Link]

Grace, J.B., Schoolmaster, D.R. Jr., Guntenspergen, G.R., Little, A.M., Mitchell, B.R., Miller, K.M., and Schweiger, E.W. 2012. Guidelines for a graph-theoretic implementation of structural equation modeling. Ecosphere 3(8): article 73 (44 pages). [Link]

Grace, J.B., P.B. Adler, E.W. Seabloom, E.T. Borer, J. Jillebrand, Y. Hautier, A. Hector, W.S. Harpole, L.R. O’Halloran, et al. 2012. Towards a multivariate representation of the multiple mechanisms controlling productivity and diversity: Responses to comments on “Productivity is a poor predictor of plant species richness.” Science 335:1441. DOI: 10.1126/science.1214939. [Link]

Cardinale, B.J., Duffy, J.E., Gonzalez, A. Hooper, D.U., Perrings, C., Venail, P., Narwani, A., Mace, G.M., Tilman, D., Wardle, D.A., Kinzig, A.P., Daily, G.C., Loreau, M., Grace, J.B., Larigauderie, A., Srivastava, D., and Naeem, S. 2012. Biodiversity loss and its impact on humanity. Nature - Review 486:59-67. [Link]

Schoolmaster, D.R. Jr., Grace, J.B., and Schweiger, E.W. 2012. A general theory of multimetric indices and their properties. Methods in Ecology and Evolution. 3:773-781. [Link]

Matteson, K.C., Grace, J.B., and Minor, E.S. 2012. Direct and indirect effects of land use on floral resources and flower-visiting insects across an urban landscape. Oikos 122:682-694. [Link]

Grace, J.B., Keeley, J., Johnson, D., and Bollen, K.A. 2012. Structural equation modeling and the analysis of long-term monitoring data. pp 325-358. In: Gitzen, R.A., Millspaugh, J.J., Cooper, A.B., and Licht, D.S. Design and Analysis of Long-Term Ecological Monitoring Studies. Cambridge University Press. [Link]

McKee, K.L. and Grace, J.B., 2012, Effects of prescribed burning on marsh-elevation change and the risk of wetland loss: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2012-1031, 51 p. [Link]

Chambers, J., R. Miller, and J.B. Grace. 2012. Understanding the importance of resilience and resistance to the restoration of sagebrush rangelands. SageSTEP News, Issue 18, Spring 2012. [Link]

Grace, J.B., Harrison, S., and Damschen, E.I. 2011. Local richness along gradients in the Siskiyou herb flora: R. H. Whittaker revisited. Ecology 92:108-120 [Link]

Willig, M.R. 2011 Science: Perspective on Adler et al. paper. 333:1719-1710. [Link]

Adler, P.B. et al. and Grace, J.B (total of 58 authors). 2011. Productivity is a poor predictor of plant species richness. Science 333:1750-1753. [Link]

Damschen, E.I., Harrison, S., and Grace, J.B. 2010. Climate change effects on an endemic-rich edaphic flora: resurveying Robert H. Whittaker's Siskiyou sites (Oregon, USA). Ecology 92:3609-3619. Selected as Editor's Choice, Science Magazine [Link]

Harrison, S., Damschen, E.I. and Grace, J.B. 2010. Ecological contingency in the effects of climatic warming on forest herb communities. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. early online, pnas.100623107. [subject of USGS News Release http://www.usgs.gov/newsroom/article.asp?ID=2619] [other press, http://www.examiner.com/liberal-in-national/study-climate-change-adversely-affects-low-elevation-mountain-vegetation] [Link]

McIver, J., Brunson, M., Bunting, S., Chambers, J., Devoe, N., Doescher, P., Grace, J., Johnson, D., Knick, S., Miller, R., Pellant, M., Pierson, F., Pyke, D., Rollins, K., Roundy, R., Schupp, R., Tausch, R., and Turner, D. 2010. The Sagebrush Steppe Treatment Evaluation Project (SageSTEP): A Test of State-and-Transition Theory. USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mt. Res. Station Report. http://www.fs.fed.us/rm/pubs/rmrs_gtr237.pdf [Link]

Anderson, T.M., Hopcraft, J.G.C., Eby, S., Ritchie, M., Grace, J.B. and Olff, H. 2010. Landscape-scale analyses suggest both nutrient and antipredator advantages to Serengeti herbivore hotspots. Ecology 91:1519-1529. [Link]

Grace, J.B., Anderson, T.M., Olff, H., and Scheiner, S.M. 2010. On the specification of structural equation models for ecological systems. Ecological Monographs 80:67-87. [Link]

Travis, S.E. and Grace, J.B. 2010. Predicting performance for ecological restoration: a case study using Spartina alterniflora. Ecological Applications 20:192-204. [selected as Recommended Reading by the Faculty of 1000: http://f1000biology.com/article/id/2305956/evaluation] [featured in a Research Brief by Conservation Maven: http://www.conservationmaven.com/frontpage/predicting-the-performance-of-plant-restoration.html] [Link]

Editor's Choice. 2010. Narrow niches and nowhere to go. Highlight of Damschen, Harrison, and Grace paper in Ecology 91:3609-3619. Science Magazine [Link]

USGS News Release. 2010. Mountain vegetation impacted by climate change. Highlight of paper by Harrison, Damschen, and Grace 2010. Published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. [Link]

Riginos, C., Grace, J.B., Augustine, D.J., and Young, T.P. 2009. Local versus landscape-scale effects of savanna trees on grasses. Journal of Ecology 97:1337-1345.

Oberle, B., Grace, J.B., Chase, J. 2009. Beneath the veil: plant growth form influences the strength of species richness - productivity relationships in forests. Global Ecology and Biogeography 18:416-425.

Cherry, J.A., McKee, K.L., and Grace, J.B. 2009. Elevated CO2 enhances biological contributions to elevation change in coastal wetlands by offsetting stressors associated with sea-level rise. Journal of Ecology 97:67-77. [this article was featured in Nature News April 9, 2009, featured in Nature Climate Change Research Highlights May 5, 2009, and was a USGS Science Newsroom Pick. http://www.nature.com/climate/2009/0905/full/climate.2009.32.html]

Barnett, A. 2009. Marsh attacks - Report on Cherry, McKee & Grace 2009 Journal of Ecology. Nature Reports Climate Change. Vol 3, May 2009. p 64. [Link]

Youngblood, A., Grace, J.B., and McIver, J.D. 2009. Delayed conifer mortality after fuel reduction treatments: Interactive effects of fuel, fire intensity, and bark beetles. Ecological Applications (Special Feature) 19:321-337. [Link]

Chaudhary, V.B., Bowker, M.A., O'Dell, T.E., Grace, J.B., Redman, A.E., Rillig, M.C., and Johnson, N.C. 2009. Untangling the biological contributions to soil stability in semi-arid shrublands. Ecological Applications. 19:110-122. [Link]

Grace, J.B., Youngblood, A., and Scheiner, S.M. 2009. Structural equation modeling and ecological experiments. Chapter 2, pp. 19-45. In: Miao, S., Carstenn, S., and Nungesser, M. (Eds.) Real World Ecology: Large-Scale and Long-Term Case Studies and Methods. Springer Verlag, New York.

Grace, J.B., Carstenn, S., Miao, S., and Sinhoj, E., 2009. Ecology in the real world, how might we progress? Chapter 12, pp. 293-302. In: Miao, S., Carstenn, S., and Nungesser, M. (Eds.) Real World Ecology: Large-Scale and Long-Term Case Studies and Methods. Springer Verlag, New York.

Koerner, C. 2009. Science highlight: Collins et al., Rank clocks and plant community dynamics. Faculty of 1000. May 08, 2009. [Link]

Hay, M. 2009. Science highlight: Riginos and Grace, Savanna tree density, herbivores, and the herbaceous community: bottom-up versus top-down effects. Faculty of 1000, June 24, 2009. [Link]

Larson, D.L., Grace, J.B., and Larson, J.L. 2008. Long-term dynamics of leafy spurge (Euphorbia esula) and its biocontrol agent, the flea beetle Aphthona lacertosa. Biological Control 47:250-256.

Collins, S.L., Suding, K.N., Cleland, E.E., Batty, M., Pennings, S.C., Gross, K.L., Grace, J.B. Gough, L., Fargione, J.E., Clark, C.M. 2008. Rank clocks and community dynamics. Ecology 89:3534-3541. [Link]

Ewing, R., Bartholomew, K., Winkelman, S., Walters, J., Chen, D., Anderson, G., Grace, J.B., McCann, B., and Goldberg, D. 2008. Growing Cooler: The Evidence on Urban Development and Climate Change. Urban Land Institute, Washington, DC.

Harrison, S., Viers, J.H., Thorne, J.H. and Grace, J.B. 2008. Favorable environments and the persistence of naturally rare species. Conservation Letters 1:65-74.

Riginos, C. and Grace, J.B. 2008. Savanna tree density, herbivores, and the herbaceous community: bottom-up versus top-down effects. Ecology 89:2228-2238. [Link]

Grace, J. B. and K. Zouhar, 2008. Chapter 7: Fire and nonnative invasive plants in the central bioregion, p. 113-140. In: Zouhar, K., J. K. Smith, S. Sutherland, and M. L. Brooks, eds. Wildland fire in ecosystems: fire and nonnative invasive plants. General Technical Report RMRS-GTR-42-volume 6. Ogden, UT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. 355 p. [Link]

Grace, J.B. 2008. Structural equation modeling for observational studies. Journal of Wildlife Management 72:14-22.

Drake, J.M., Cleland, E.E., Horner-Devine, M.C., Fleishman, E., Bowles, C., Smith, M.D., Carney, K., Emery, S., Gramling, J., Vandermast, D.B., and Grace, J.B. 2008. Do non-native plant species affect the shape of productivity-diversity relationships? American Midland Naturalist. 159:55-66.

Grace, J.B. and Bollen, KA. 2008. Representing general theoretical concepts in structural equation models: the role of composite variables. Environmental and Ecological Statistics 15:191-213.

Siemann, E., Rogers, W.E. and Grace, J.B. 2007. Effects of nutrient loading and extreme rainfall events on coastal tallgrass prairies: invasion intensity, vegetation responses, and carbon and nitrogen distribution. Global Change Biology 13:2184-2192.

Nettle, D., Grace, J.B., Choisy, M., Cornell, H.V., Guegan, J.F., and Hochberg, M.E. 2007. Cultural diversity, economic development and societal instability. PLoS ONE 2(9): e929. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0000929.

Clark, C, Cleland, S.L. Collins, E, Fargione, J.E., Gough, L., Gross, K.L., Pennings, S.C., Suding, K.N. and Grace, JB. 2007. Environmental and plant community determinants of species loss following nitrogen enrichment. Ecology Letters 10:596-607.

Owens, A, Proffitt, E, and Grace, JB. 2007. Prescribed fire and cutting as tools for managing woody plant succession in a created salt marsh. Wetlands Ecology and Management. 15:405-416.

Grace, J.B., Anderson, T.M., Smith, M., Seabloom, E., Andelman, S., Meche, G., Weiher, E., Allain, L.K., Jutila, H., Sankaran, M., Knops, J., Ritchie, M.E. and Willig, M.R. 2007. Does species diversity limit productivity in natural grassland communities. Ecology Letters. 10:680-689.

Koerner, C. 2007. Science Highlight - Must Read: Grace et al. Does species richness limit productivity in natural grassland communities. Faculty of 1000, Sep 05, 2007. [Link]

Anderson, T.M., Ritchie, M.E., Mayemba, E., Eby, S., Grace, J.B., and McNaughton, S.J. 2007. Forage nutritive quality in the Serengeti ecosystem: the roles of fire and herbivory. American Naturalist. 170:343-357.

Grace, J.B., Safford, H., and Harrison, S. 2007. Large-scale causes of variation in the serpentine vegetation of California. Plant and Soil 293:121-132.

Harrison, S. and Grace, JB. 2007. Biogeographic affinity contributes to our understanding of productivity-richness relationships at regional and local scales. American Naturalist. 170:S5-S15.

Laughlin, D.C., Abella, S.R., Covington, W.W., Fulé, P., and Grace, J.B. 2007. A structural equation modeling analysis of plant species richness and soil properties in a ponderosa pine forest ecosystem. Journal of Vegetation Science 18:231-242.

Larson, D.L., Grace, J.B., Rabie, P.A., and Andersen, P. 2007. Short-term disruption of a leafy spurge (Euphorbia esula) biocontrol program following herbicide application. Biological Control 40:1-8.

Baldwin, H.Q., Grace, J.B., Barrow, W., Rohwer, F.C. 2007. Association of overwintering grassland birds with time since burn and vegetation characteristics in coastal tallgrass prairie. Wilson Journal of Ornithology 119:189-197.

Drake, D.L., Altig, R., Grace, J.B. and Walls, S.C. 2007. Occurrence of oral defects in larval anurans from protected sites. Copeia 2007(2):449-458.

Hartley, M.K., Rogers, W.E., Siemann, E., and Grace, J.B. 2007. Responses of prairie arthropod communities to fire and fertilizer: Balancing plant and arthropod conservation. American Midland Naturalist 157:92-105.

Lichtenberg, J.S., King, S.L., Grace, J.B., and Walls, S. 2006. Habitat associations of chorusing anurans in the lower Mississippi river alluvial valley. Wetlands 26:736-744.

Grace, J.B. 2006. Structural Equation Modeling and Natural Systems. Cambridge University Press.

Laughlin, D.C. and Grace, J.B. 2006. A multivariate model of plant species richness in forested systems: old-growth montane forests with a long history of fire. Oikos 114:60-70.

Whitbeck, M. and Grace, J.B. 2006. Estimating biomass in marshes of the upper Texas coast. Wetlands 26:278-282.

Harrison, S., Grace, J.B. Davies, K.F., Safford, H.D., and Viers, J.H. 2006. Exotic invasion in a diversity hotspot: disentangling the direct and indirect relationships of exotic cover to native richness in the californian serpentine flora. Ecology 87:695-703.

Harrison, S., Safford, H.D. Grace, J.B. Viers, J.H. and Davies, K.F. 2006. Regional and local species richness in an insular environment: Serpentine plants in California. Ecological Monographs 76:41-56.

Grace, J.B. and Keeley, J.E. 2006. A structural equation model analysis of postfire plant diversity in California shrublands. Ecological Applications 16:503-514.

Allain, L., Smith, L, Allen, C. Vidrine, M.F. and Grace, J.B. 2006. A floristic quality assessment system for the coastal prairie of Louisiana. Proceedings of The 19th North American Prairie Conference, pp. 1-18.

Grace, J.B. and Bollen, K.A. 2006. The Interface between Theory and Data in Structural Equation Models. USGS Open-File Report 2006-1363. 37 p [Download File]

Grace, J.B., Allain, L.K., Baldwin, H.Q., Billock, A.G., Eddleman, W.R., Given, A.M., Jeske, C.W., and Moss, R. 2005. An Assessment of Prescribed Fire Effects at the USFWS Texas Mid-coast National Wildlife Refuge Complex. USGS Open-File Report 2005-1287. 40 p.

Grace, J., Owens, A., and Allain, L., 2005, Fireloggers user's manual: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2005-1212, 24 p.

Grace, J.B. and Bollen, K.A. 2005. Interpreting the results from multiple regression and structural equation models. Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America. 86:283-295.

Mancera, JE, Meche, GC, Cardona, PP, Castaneda-Moya, E, Chiasson, RL, Geddes, NA, Schile, LM, Wang, HG, Guntenspergen, GR, and Grace, JB. 2005. Fine scale variation in plant species richness in coastal marshlands. Plant Ecology 178:39-50.

FOR PUBLICATIONS PRIOR TO 2005, REFER TO MY CV.

My USGS Science Strategy Areas