James Elser

James Elser is an American ecologist and limnologist. He is Director & Bierman Professor of Ecology, Flathead Lake Biological Station, University of Montana and research professor, School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University. He is known for his work in ecological stoichiometry. In 2019, he was elected to the National Academy of Sciences.[1]

James Elser
Photo of James Elser
Born (1959-01-25) January 25, 1959
Portland, Maine
Alma mater
AwardsRaymond L. Lindeman Award (1990)
G. Evelyn Hutchinson Award (2012)
Scientific career
Fields
Institutions
ThesisNutrients, algae, and grazers: complex interactions in lake ecosystems
Doctoral advisorCharles R. Goldman

Education

Elser earned a B.S. in biology in 1981 from the University of Notre Dame and an M.S. in ecology in 1983 from the University of Tennessee. He earned a Ph.D. in ecology at University of California-Davis in 1990 working with the limnologist Charles R. Goldman, producing a dissertation titled "Nutrients, algae, and grazers: complex interactions in lake ecosystems".[2]

Career

Elser was hired as an assistant professor at Arizona State University in 1990, where he advanced to Associate and Full Professor, and was named Regents' Professor in 2009.[3] In 2016 he moved to University of Montana, where he directs the Flathead Lake Biological Station,[4] while remaining a research professor at Arizona State. He served as president of the Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography from 2014 to 2016.[5]

Research

Elser's research focuses on ecological stoichiometry, how the balance of chemical elements affects ecological systems. Particular contributions include global analyses of the nutrient limitation of primary producers,[6] the stoichiometry of nutrient recycling,[7] and the linkage between the phosphorus and RNA content of organisms and their growth rate (the Growth Rate Hypothesis).[8] This work is summarized in the 2002 book Ecological Stoichiometry,[9] co-authored with Robert Sterner. Elser has also organized Woodstoich, a series of four workshops on ecological stoichiometry for early career researchers.[10] The sustainable use of phosphorus is a recent focus,[11] as Director of the Sustainable Phosphorus Alliance[12]

Awards and distinctions

References
  1. "James J. Elser". NAS Online. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
  2. Elser, James Joseph. Nutrients, Algae, and Grazers: Complex Interactions in Lake Ecosystems. U. of Calif., Davis, 1990.
  3. Coulombe, Margaret (21 October 2009). "James Elser joins ranks of elite faculty". ASU Now. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
  4. Cates-Carney, Corin (6 August 2015). "New Director Wants A 'Bigger And Better' Flathead Lake Bio Station". Montana Public Radio. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
  5. "Past Officers and Board". ASLO. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
  6. Elser, J.J.; et al. (2007). "Global analysis of nitrogen and phosphorus limitation of primary producers in freshwater, marine and terrestrial ecosystems". Ecology Letters. 10 (12): 1135–1142. doi:10.1111/j.1461-0248.2007.01113.x. hdl:1903/7447. PMID 17922835. S2CID 12083235.
  7. Elser, J.J.; Urabe, J. (1999). "The stoichiometry of consumer-driven nutrient recycling: Theory, observations, and consequences". Ecology. 80 (8): 735–751. doi:10.1890/0012-9658(1999)080[0735:TSOCDN]2.0.CO;2.
  8. Elser, J.J. (2003). "Growth rate-stoichiometry couplings in diverse biota". Ecology Letters. 6 (10): 936–943. doi:10.1046/j.1461-0248.2003.00518.x.
  9. Sterner, R.W.; Elser, J.J. (2002). Ecological Stoichiometry: The Biology of Elements from Molecules to the Biosphere. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-07491-7.
  10. Evans-White, M.A.; Cardon, Z.G.; Schweitzer, J.A.; Urabe, J.; Elser, J.J. (2019). "Editorial: Emerging Frontiers in Ecological Stoichiometry". Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution. 7: 463. doi:10.3389/fevo.2019.00463. S2CID 208619728.
  11. Clabby, Catherine (6 February 2017). "Does peak phosphorus loom?". American Scientist. 98 (4): 291.
  12. "Leadership". Sustainable Phosphorus Alliance. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
  13. "Raymond L. Lindeman Award". ASLO. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
  14. Derra, Skip (22 December 2008). "Eight faculty members elected as AAAS Fellows". ASU Now. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
  15. Collins, James P. (2012). "G. Evelyn Hutchinson award to James Elser". ASLO Bulletin. 21 (1): 60–61. doi:10.1002/lob.201221260b.
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