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Ecology and Evolution
USA
2026

D-Index & Metrics

Ecology and Evolution

D-Index
109
Citations
65109
World Ranking
184
National Ranking
77

James J. Elser publication distribution in Ecology and Evolution in 2026

The chart shows the distribution of publications by all Research.com ranked scientists in the field of Ecology and Evolution in 2026. The highlighted bar marks where James J. Elser sits on this spectrum.

37–46 publications: 11 scientists 47–56 publications: 41 scientists 57–66 publications: 147 scientists 67–76 publications: 219 scientists 77–86 publications: 409 scientists 87–96 publications: 467 scientists 97–106 publications: 613 scientists 107–116 publications: 585 scientists 117–126 publications: 591 scientists 127–136 publications: 567 scientists 137–146 publications: 535 scientists 147–156 publications: 481 scientists 157–166 publications: 404 scientists 167–176 publications: 338 scientists 177–186 publications: 362 scientists 187–196 publications: 309 scientists 197–206 publications: 246 scientists 207–216 publications: 223 scientists 217–226 publications: 205 scientists 227–236 publications: 167 scientists 237–246 publications: 141 scientists 247–256 publications: 150 scientists 257–266 publications: 125 scientists 267–276 publications: 113 scientists 277–286 publications: 92 scientists 287–296 publications: 81 scientists 297–306 publications: 77 scientists 307–316 publications: 64 scientists 317–326 publications: 47 scientists 327–336 publications: 58 scientists 337–346 publications: 52 scientists 347–356 publications: 48 scientists 357–366 publications: 50 scientists 367–376 publications: 30 scientists 377–386 publications: 30 scientists 387–396 publications: 34 scientists 397–406 publications: 25 scientists 407–416 publications: 17 scientists 417–426 publications: 12 scientists 427–436 publications: 20 scientists 437–446 publications: 9 scientists 447–456 publications: 12 scientists 457–466 publications: 11 scientists 467–476 publications: 13 scientists 477–486 publications: 10 scientists 487–496 publications: 7 scientists 497–506 publications: 12 scientists 507–516 publications: 10 scientists 517–526 publications: 9 scientists 527–532 publications: 6 scientists 533+ publications: 100 scientists
37 publications 533+

This scientist: 370 publications — 96th percentile

96% of scientists in this discipline score the same or lower.

The last bar groups every scientist with 533 publications or more.

James J. Elser D-index placement in Ecology and Evolution in 2026

The chart shows the D-index (discipline H-index) distribution of Ecology and Evolution scientists ranked by Research.com in 2026. The highlighted bar marks where James J. Elser sits on this spectrum.

30 D-Index: 95 scientists 31 D-Index: 123 scientists 32 D-Index: 191 scientists 33 D-Index: 245 scientists 34 D-Index: 252 scientists 35 D-Index: 244 scientists 36 D-Index: 249 scientists 37 D-Index: 244 scientists 38 D-Index: 254 scientists 39 D-Index: 254 scientists 40 D-Index: 280 scientists 41 D-Index: 274 scientists 42 D-Index: 266 scientists 43 D-Index: 233 scientists 44 D-Index: 248 scientists 45 D-Index: 208 scientists 46 D-Index: 201 scientists 47 D-Index: 213 scientists 48 D-Index: 207 scientists 49 D-Index: 172 scientists 50 D-Index: 209 scientists 51 D-Index: 199 scientists 52 D-Index: 152 scientists 53 D-Index: 169 scientists 54 D-Index: 163 scientists 55 D-Index: 148 scientists 56 D-Index: 120 scientists 57 D-Index: 146 scientists 58 D-Index: 137 scientists 59 D-Index: 140 scientists 60 D-Index: 104 scientists 61 D-Index: 120 scientists 62 D-Index: 118 scientists 63 D-Index: 99 scientists 64 D-Index: 77 scientists 65 D-Index: 100 scientists 66 D-Index: 86 scientists 67 D-Index: 83 scientists 68 D-Index: 75 scientists 69 D-Index: 94 scientists 70 D-Index: 57 scientists 71 D-Index: 68 scientists 72 D-Index: 59 scientists 73 D-Index: 63 scientists 74 D-Index: 66 scientists 75 D-Index: 60 scientists 76 D-Index: 42 scientists 77 D-Index: 49 scientists 78 D-Index: 39 scientists 79 D-Index: 37 scientists 80 D-Index: 43 scientists 81 D-Index: 41 scientists 82 D-Index: 45 scientists 83 D-Index: 34 scientists 84 D-Index: 40 scientists 85 D-Index: 35 scientists 86 D-Index: 55 scientists 87 D-Index: 24 scientists 88 D-Index: 24 scientists 89 D-Index: 30 scientists 90 D-Index: 23 scientists 91 D-Index: 25 scientists 92 D-Index: 28 scientists 93 D-Index: 27 scientists 94 D-Index: 13 scientists 95 D-Index: 23 scientists 96 D-Index: 12 scientists 97 D-Index: 14 scientists 98 D-Index: 19 scientists 99 D-Index: 16 scientists 100 D-Index: 14 scientists 101 D-Index: 5 scientists 102 D-Index: 21 scientists 103 D-Index: 16 scientists 104 D-Index: 10 scientists 105 D-Index: 8 scientists 106 D-Index: 7 scientists 107 D-Index: 7 scientists 108 D-Index: 6 scientists 109 D-Index: 9 scientists 110 D-Index: 11 scientists 111 D-Index: 12 scientists 112 D-Index: 9 scientists 113 D-Index: 7 scientists 114 D-Index: 3 scientists 115 D-Index: 8 scientists 116 D-Index: 5 scientists 117 D-Index: 11 scientists 118 D-Index: 4 scientists 119 D-Index: 2 scientists 120 D-Index: 5 scientists 121 D-Index: 3 scientists 122+ D-Index: 99 scientists
30 D-Index 122+

This scientist: 109 D-Index — 98th percentile

98% of scientists in this discipline score the same or lower.

The last bar groups every scientist with 122 D-Index or more.

Research.com Recognitions

  • 2026 - Research.com Ecology and Evolution in United States Leader Award
  • 2025 - Research.com Ecology and Evolution in United States Leader Award
  • 2019 - Member of the National Academy of Sciences

Overview

James J. Elser is affiliated with the University of Montana in the United States. Their research focuses primarily on environmental science, with significant contributions in ecology, environmental chemistry, atmospheric science, industrial and manufacturing engineering, and oceanography.

Elser's work extensively covers the dynamics of aquatic ecosystems and phytoplankton, soil and water nutrient cycles, cryospheric studies, marine and coastal ecosystems, polar research and ecology, phosphorus and nutrient management, and microbial community ecology and physiology.

Frequent publication venues for their research include:

  • Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
  • Ecology Letters
  • Limnology and Oceanography
  • Aquatic Sciences
  • Biogeochemistry

Recent publications by Elser include:

  • "Water Depth Underpins the Relative Roles and Fates of Nitrogen and Phosphorus in Lakes" (2020, Environmental Science & Technology)
  • "Improvement in municipal wastewater treatment alters lake nitrogen to phosphorus ratios in populated regions" (2020, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences)
  • "Effects of grassland degradation on ecological stoichiometry of soil ecosystems on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau" (2020, The Science of The Total Environment)
  • "Aeolian dust transport, cycle and influences in high-elevation cryosphere of the Tibetan Plateau region: New evidences from alpine snow and ice" (2020, Earth-Science Reviews)
  • "Key rules of life and the fading cryosphere: Impacts in alpine lakes and streams" (2020, Global Change Biology)

Elser collaborates frequently with several researchers, including Ze Ren, Decao Niu, Pablo Almela, Trinity L. Hamilton, and Hua Fu.

In 2019, Elser was recognized as a Member of the National Academy of Sciences.

Best Publications

  • Ecological Stoichiometry: The Biology of Elements from Molecules to the Biosphere

    Robert Warner Sterner;James J. Elser

  • Global analysis of nitrogen and phosphorus limitation of primary producers in freshwater, marine and terrestrial ecosystems.

    James J. Elser;Matthew E.S. Bracken;Elsa E. Cleland;Daniel S. Gruner

  • TRY - a global database of plant traits

    J. Kattge;S. Díaz;S. Lavorel;I. C. Prentice

  • The Global Carbon Cycle: A Test of Our Knowledge of Earth as a System

    P. Falkowski;R. J. Scholes;E. Boyle;J. Canadell

  • Nutritional constraints in terrestrial and freshwater food webs

    James J. Elser;William F. Fagan;Robert F. Denno;Dean R. Dobberfuhl;Dean R. Dobberfuhl

  • TRY plant trait database : Enhanced coverage and open access

    Jens Kattge;Gerhard Bönisch;Sandra Díaz;Sandra Lavorel

  • Biological stoichiometry from genes to ecosystems.

    James Elser;R. W. Sterner;E. Gorokhova;W. F. Fagan

  • Organism size, life history, and N:P stoichiometry

    James J. Elser;Dean R. Dobberfuhl;Neil A. MacKay;John H. Schampel

  • Nutrient co-limitation of primary producer communities

    W. Stanley Harpole;Jacqueline T. Ngai;Elsa E. Cleland;Eric W. Seabloom

  • REGULATION OF LAKE PRIMARY PRODUCTIVITY BY FOOD WEB STRUCTURE

    S. R. Carpenter;J. F. Kitchell;J. R. Hodgson;P. A. Cochran

  • Growth rate–stoichiometry couplings in diverse biota

    J. J. Elser;K. Acharya;M. Kyle;James B Cotner

  • Biological stoichiometry of plant production: metabolism, scaling and ecological response to global change

    James Elser;W. F. Fagan;A. J. Kerkhoff;N. G. Swenson

  • Beyond the Plankton Ecology Group (PEG) Model : Mechanisms Driving Plankton Succession

    Ulrich Sommer;Rita Adrian;Lisette N. de Senerpont Domis;James J. Elser

  • Shifts in Lake N:P Stoichiometry and Nutrient Limitation Driven by Atmospheric Nitrogen Deposition

    James J. Elser;Tom Andersen;Jill S. Baron;Ann Kristin Bergström

  • Phosphorus and nitrogen limitation of phytoplankton growth in the freshwaters of North America : a review and critique of experimental enrichments

    James J. Elser;Erich R. Marzolf;Charles R. Goldman

  • Phosphorus cycle: A broken biogeochemical cycle

    James Elser;Elena Bennett

  • THE STOICHIOMETRY OF CONSUMER-DRIVEN NUTRIENT RECYCLING: THEORY, OBSERVATIONS, AND CONSEQUENCES

    James J. Elser;Jotaro Urabe

  • CARBON SEQUESTRATION IN ECOSYSTEMS: THE ROLE OF STOICHIOMETRY

    Dag O. Hessen;Göran I. Ågren;Thomas R. Anderson;James J. Elser

  • Sustainability challenges of phosphorus and food: Solutions from closing the human phosphorus cycle

    Daniel L. Childers;Jessica Corman;Mark Edwards;James J. Elser

  • Phylogenetic and Growth Form Variation in the Scaling of Nitrogen and Phosphorus in the Seed Plants

    Andrew J. Kerkhoff;William F. Fagan;James J. Elser;Brian J. Enquist

  • The Light: Nutrient Ratio in Lakes: The Balance of Energy and Materials Affects Ecosystem Structure and Process

    Robert W. Sterner;James J. Elser;Everett J. Fee;Stephanie J. Guildford

Frequent Co-Authors

Robert W. Sterner
Robert W. Sterner University of Minnesota, Duluth
Valeria Souza
Valeria Souza National Autonomous University of Mexico
Jotaro Urabe
Jotaro Urabe Tohoku University
William F. Fagan
William F. Fagan University of Maryland, College Park
Dag O. Hessen
Dag O. Hessen University of Oslo
Charles R. Goldman
Charles R. Goldman University of California, Davis
Stephen R. Carpenter
Stephen R. Carpenter University of Wisconsin–Madison
Luis E. Eguiarte
Luis E. Eguiarte National Autonomous University of Mexico
Xingguo Han
Xingguo Han Hebei University
Paul C. Frost
Paul C. Frost Trent University

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Related Online Degrees & Career Pathways

Studying Ecology and Evolution in the USA opens connections to a variety of interdisciplinary fields. Many students interested in environmental systems, behavior, and human impact also consider how ecological understanding intersects with social and psychological domains. For example, professionals who wish to address environmental issues through community work may be interested in lcsw online programs, merging environmental advocacy with social justice.

Students looking for broader perspectives on behavior—both human and animal—may consider pathways beyond biology, such as accelerated psychology degree programs. Explore your options for a accelerated psychology degree online to complement your understanding of ecological and evolutionary theory.

Careers in conservation, outreach, or policy often interact with mental health and counseling. For those who want to blend counseling skills with an ecological focus, many flexible online clinical mental health counseling programs are available.

Even unique areas like forensic psychology can intersect with ecology and evolution—especially when researching environmental crime or human-animal interactions. To learn more about career options, discover what can i do with a forensic psychology degree and related emerging opportunities.

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