James S. Clark

Dr. James Samuel Clark is Nicholas Professor of the Nicholas School of the Environment and Professor of Statistical Science at Duke University. He also currently serves on the University Program of Ecology Executive Committee and chairs the Nicholas School of the Environment committees on Life Sciences and Distinguished Professorships. Ecologists have long recognized a biodiversity paradox: models predict that only a few competitors for the same resources can coexist, while nature demonstrates dozens to thousands of competitors coexisting in nature, apparently on a small number of resources.  Traditional models have not provided guidance on how each species limits its own population growth, as required if species are to coexist with one another.  Not nearly enough niche differences emerge from field data that could limit competition and thus explain species coexistence in models.  In response to the biodiversity paradox, Clark’s research focuses on how global change affects populations, communities, and ecosystems. Current projects explore consequences of climate, CO2, and disturbance on dynamics of forests. His lab is using long-term experiments and monitoring studies to determine disturbance and climate controls on the dynamics of 20th century forests in combination with extensive modeling to forecast ecosystem change. In addition to his research, Clark has been active in science policy and advocacy, testifying before congress on behalf of the Ecological Society of America and the NSF budget and serving as a founding member of the Science Advisory Board of the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis. Clark is the recipient of numerous awards, including the William Skinner Cooper Award, for his research on barrier beach dynamics; the George Mercer Award, for studies of climate change and fire; the National Science Foundation’s Presidential Faculty Fellow Award for excellence in teaching and research; and the Aldo Leopold Leadership Fellowship, for outstanding leadership in sustainability and the environment. Clark has authored over 150 refereed scientific articles for which he is an ISI highly cited researcher and published four books, including Models for Ecological Data (Princeton, 2007), Models for Ecological Data in R (Princeton, 2007), Hierarchical Models of the Environment (Oxford, 2006), and Sediment Records of Biomass Burning and Global Change (Springer, 1997).