James Elser is an American

ecologist Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overlaps wi ...

and

limnologist Limnology ( ; from Greek λίμνη, ''limne'', "lake" and λόγος, ''logos'', "knowledge") is the study of inland aquatic ecosystems. The study of limnology includes aspects of the biological, chemical, physical, and geological characteristi ...

. He is Director & Bierman Professor of Ecology, Flathead Lake Biological Station,

University of Montana The University of Montana (UM) is a public research university in Missoula, Montana. UM is a flagship institution of the Montana University System and its second largest campus. UM reported 10,962 undergraduate and graduate students in the fal ...

and research professor, School of Life Sciences,

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...

. He is known for his work in

ecological stoichiometry Ecological stoichiometry (more broadly referred to as biological stoichiometry) considers how the balance of energy and elements influences living systems. Similar to chemical stoichiometry, ecological stoichiometry is founded on constraints of ma ...

. In 2019, he was elected to the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...

Education

Elser earned a B.S. in biology in 1981 from the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main campu ...

and an M.S. in ecology in 1983 from the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th state, ...

. He earned a Ph.D. in ecology at

University of California-Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a public land-grant research university near Davis, California. Named a Public Ivy, it is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The institut ...

in 1990 working with the limnologist Charles R. Goldman, producing a dissertation titled "Nutrients, algae, and grazers: complex interactions in lake ecosystems".

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. In 2016 he moved to University of Montana, where he directs the Flathead Lake Biological Station, while remaining a research professor at Arizona State. He served as president of the

Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography The Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography (ASLO), formerly known as the Limnological Society of America and the American Society of Limnology and Oceanography, is a scientific society established in 1936 with the goal of advan ...

from 2014 to 2016.

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, the stoichiometry of nutrient recycling, and the linkage between the

phosphorus Phosphorus is a chemical element with the symbol P and atomic number 15. Elemental phosphorus exists in two major forms, white phosphorus and red phosphorus, but because it is highly reactive, phosphorus is never found as a free element on Ear ...

and RNA content of organisms and their growth rate (the Growth Rate Hypothesis). This work is summarized in the 2002 book ''Ecological Stoichiometry'', co-authored with Robert Sterner. Elser has also organized Woodstoich, a series of four workshops on ecological stoichiometry for early career researchers. The sustainable use of phosphorus is a recent focus, as Director of the Sustainable Phosphorus Alliance

Awards and distinctions

* 1990 Raymond L. Lindeman Award,

* 2008 Fellow,

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is an American international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific respons ...

* 2012 G. Evelyn Hutchinson Award,

* 2013 Foreign member,

Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters ( no, Det Norske Videnskaps-Akademi, DNVA) is a learned society based in Oslo, Norway. Its purpose is to support the advancement of science and scholarship in Norway. History The Royal Frederick Univer ...

* 2019 Member,

USA.

References

External links

Homepage

Google Scholar
{{DEFAULTSORT:Elser, James 1959 births Living people American ecologists American limnologists Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Notre Dame College of Arts and Letters alumni University of California, Davis alumni Scientists from Maine Academics from Portland, Maine Scientists at University of Notre Dame Environmental Research Center Members of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters