UMass Boston

Marine Ecology; Biodiversity and Ecosystem Function; Climate Change Ecology; Kelp Forest Ecology; Living Seawalls

PhD, UC Davis, 2008 (Population Biology)

BS, Brown University, 2001 (Biology)

Wilkes, L. N., Barner, A. K., Keyes, A. A., Morton, D., Byrnes, J. E. K., & Dee, L. E. 2024. Quantifying co-extinctions and ecosystem service vulnerability in coastal ecosystems experiencing climate warming. Global Change Biology. 30, e17422. [link]

Suskiewicz, T. S., J. E. K. Byrnes, R. S. Steneck, R. Russell, C. J. Wilson, and D. B. Rasher. 2024. Ocean warming undermines the recovery resilience of New England kelp forests following a fishery-induced trophic cascade. Ecology:e4334. [link]

Rosenthal, I. S., M. N. Simon, L. Trouille, and J. E. K. Byrnes. 2024. A citizen science approach to teaching climate change in introductory-level undergraduate general science courses. Journal of Geoscience Education 0:1–12. [link]

Byrnes, J. E. K., A. Brown, K. Sheridan, T. Peller, J. Lawlor, J. Beaulieu, J. Muñoz, A. Hesketh, A. Pereira, N. S. Knight, L. Super, E. K. Bledsoe, J. B. Burant, J. A. Dijkstra, and K. Benes. 2024. Notes from the past show how local variability can stymie urchins and the rise of the reds in the Gulf of Maine. Ecosphere 15:e4800. [link]

2023

Roy, M. S., J. E. K. Byrnes, and G. Mavrommati. 2023. Mitigation policies buffer multiple climate stressors in a socio-ecological salt marsh habitat. Sustainability Science. [link]

Shaughnessy, B.K., Jackson, B., Byrnes, J.E.K. 2023. Evidence of elevated heavy metals concentrations in wild and farmed sugar kelp (Saccharina latissima) in New England. Scientific Reports. 17644. [link]

McClain, C. R., S. R. D. Bryant, G. Hanks, and J. Byrnes. 2023. Disentangling mechanisms of species–energy relationships in experimental deep-sea wood falls. Ecosphere 14:e4667. [link]

Dee, L. E., P. J. Ferraro, C. N. Severen, K. A. Kimmel, E. T. Borer, J. E. K. Byrnes, A. T. Clark, Y. Hautier, A. Hector, X. Raynaud, P. B. Reich, A. J. Wright, C. A. Arnillas, K. F. Davies, A. MacDougall, A. S. Mori, M. D. Smith, P. B. Adler, J. D. Bakker, K. A. Brauman, J. Cowles, K. Komatsu, J. M. H. Knops, R. L. McCulley, J. L. Moore, J. W. Morgan, T. Ohlert, S. A. Power, L. L. Sullivan, C. Stevens, and M. Loreau. 2023. Clarifying the effect of biodiversity on productivity in natural ecosystems with longitudinal data and methods for causal inference. Nature Communications 14:2607. [link]

Eger, A. M., E. M. Marzinelli, R. Beas-Luna, C. O. Blain, L. K. Blamey, J. E. K. Byrnes, P. E. Carnell, C. G. Choi, M. Hessing-Lewis, K. Y. Kim, N. H. Kumagai, J. Lorda, P. Moore, Y. Nakamura, A. Pérez-Matus, O. Pontier, D. Smale, P. D. Steinberg, and A. Vergés. 2023. The value of ecosystem services in global marine kelp forests. Nature Communications. 14:1894. [link]

2022

Byrnes, J. E. K., F. Roger, and R. Bagchi. 2022. Understandable multifunctionality measures using Hill numbers. Oikos: e09402. [pdf]

Filbee-Dexter, K., Feehan, C. J., Smale, D. A., Krumhansl, K. A., Augustine, S., Bettignies, F. de, Burrows, M. T., Byrnes, J. E. K., Campbell, J., Davoult, D., Dunton, K. H., Franco, J. N., Garrido, I., Grace, S. P., Hancke, K., Johnson, L. E., Konar, B., Moore, P. J., Norderhaug, K. M., O’Dell, A., Pedersen, M. F., Salomon, A. K., Sousa-Pinto, I., Tiegs, S., Yiu, D. and Wernberg, T. 2022. Kelp carbon sink potential decreases with warming due to accelerating decomposition. PLOS Biology 20: e3001702. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3001702

Ganley, L. C., Byrnes, J.E.K., Pendleton, D. E., Mayo, C. A., Friedland, K. D., Redfern, J. V., Turner, J. T. and Brault, S. 2022. Effects of changing temperature phenology on the abundance of a critically endangered baleen whale. Global Ecology and Conservation 38: e02193. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2022.e02193

Houskeeper H.F., Rosenthal I.S., Cavanaugh K.C., Pawlak C., Trouille L., Byrnes J.E.K., Bell, T.W., and Cavanaugh, K.C.. 2022. Automated satellite remote sensing of giant kelp at the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas). PLoS ONE 17(1): e0257933. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0257933

2021

Hensel, M.J., Silliman, B.R., Hensel, E. and Byrnes, J.E.K. 2021. Feral hogs control brackish marsh plant communities over time. Ecology. Accepted Author Manuscript e03572. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.3572

Hensel, M. J. S., B. R. Silliman, J. van de Koppel, E. Hensel, S. J. Sharp, S. M. Crotty, and J. E. K. Byrnes. 2021. A large invasive consumer reduces coastal ecosystem resilience by disabling positive species interactions. Nature Communications 12:6290. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-26504-4

O’Connor, M. I., Mori, A S., Gonzalez, A., Dee, L. E., Loreau, M, Avolio, M., Byrnes J. E. K., Cheung, W., Cowles, J., Clark, A. T., Hautier, Y., Hector, A., Komatsu, K., Newbold, T., Outhwaite, C. L., Reich, P. B., Seabloom, E., Williams, L., Wright, A. and Isbell, F. 2021. Grand challenges in biodiversity–ecosystem functioning research in the era of science–policy platforms require explicit consideration of feedbacks. Proc. R. Soc. B. 2882021078320210783 http://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2021.0783

Wong R.J., Roy M.S., Byrnes J.E.K. 2021. Sediment selection: range-expanding fiddler crabs are better burrowers than their historic-range counterparts. Marine Ecology Progress Series. 674:163-171. https://doi.org/10.3354/meps13811

2020

Hautier, Y., Zhang, P., Loreau, M. WIlcox, K..R., Seabloom, E.W., Borer, E.T., Byrnes, J.E.K., et al.2020. General destabilizing effects of eutrophication on grassland productivity at multiple spatial scales. Nature Communications. 11: 5375 . https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-19252-4

Lyman, T. P., Elsmore, K., Gaylord, B., Byrnes, J. E. K., & Miller, L. P. 2020. Open Wave Height Logger: An open source pressure sensor data logger for wave measurement. Limnology and Oceanography: Methods. [doi] [website for logger]

Kirshen, P., Borrelli, M., Byrnes, J., Chen, R., Lockwood, L., Watson, C., Starbuck, K., Wiggin, J., Novelly, A., Uiterwyk, K., Thurson, K., McMann, B., Foster, C., Sprague, H., Roberts, H. J., Bosma, K., Jin, D., & Herst, R. 2020. Integrated assessment of storm surge barrier systems under present and future climates and comparison to alternatives: A case study of Boston, USA. Climatic Change. [link]

2019

Blowes, S. A., S. R. Supp, L. H. Antão, A. Bates, H. Bruelheide, J. M. Chase, F. Moyes, A. Magurran, B. McGill, I. H. Myers-Smith, M. Winter, A. D. Bjorkman, D. E. Bowler, J. E. K. Byrnes, A. Gonzalez, J. Hines, F. Isbell, H. P. Jones, L. M. Navarro, P. L. Thompson, M. Vellend, C. Waldock, and M. Dornelas. 2019. The geography of biodiversity change in marine and terrestrial assemblages. Science 366:339. [link]

Duffy, J.E., Benedetti-Cecchi, L., Trinanes, J.A., Muller-Karger, F.E., Ambo-Rappe, R., Boström, C., Buschmann, A.H., Byrnes, J., Coles, R.G., Creed, J., Cullen-Unsworth, L., Diaz-Pulido, G., Duarte, C.M., Edgar, G.J., Fortes, M.D., Goni, G.J., Hu, C., Huang, X., Hurd, C.L., Konar, B., Krause-Jensen, D., Krumhansl, K., Macreadie, P.I., Marsh, H., McKenzie, L.J., Mieszkowska, N., Miloslavich, P., Montes, E., Nakaoka, M., Norderhaug, K.M., Nordlund, L.M., Orth, R.J., Prathep, A., Putman, N.F., Samper-Villarreal, J., Serrao, E.A., Short, F., Sousa PInto, I., Steinberg, P.D., Stuart-Smith, R., Unsworth, R.K.F., van Keulen, M., Van Tussenbroek, B.I., Wang, M., Waycott, M., Weatherdon, L.V., Wernberg, T., Yaakub, S.M., 2019. Toward a coordinated global observing system for seagrasses and marine macroalgae. Front. Mar. Sci. 6. [link]

Chase, J.M., McGill, B.J., Thompson, P.L., Antão, L.H., Bates, A.E., Blowes, S.A., Dornelas, M., Gonzalez, A., Magurran, A.E., Supp, S.R., Winter, M., Bjorkman, A.D., Bruelheide, H., Byrnes, J.E.K., Cabral, J.S., Elahi, R., Gomez, C., Guzman, H.M., Isbell, F., Myers‐Smith, I.H., Jones, H.P., Hines, J., Vellend, M., Waldock, C., O’Connor, M., 2019. Species richness change across spatial scales. Oikos. [link]

Chai, F., Xu, W., Musoke, T., Tarabelsi, G., Assaad, S., Freedman, J., Peterson, R., Piotrowska, K., Byrnes, J., Rogers, S., Veraksa, A. 2019. Structure-function analysis of beta-arrestin Kurtz reveals a critical role of receptor interactions in downregulation of GPCR signaling in vivo. Developmental Biology. 455(2):209-419. Developmental Biology, 455(2), 409-419. [link]

2018

Kirshen, P., Thurson, K., McMann, B., Foster, C., Sprague, H., Roberts, H., Borelli, M., Byrnes, J. E. K., Chen, R., Lockwood, L., Watson, C., Starbuck, K., Wiggin, J., Novelly, A., Ulterwyk, K., Bostoma, K., Holmes, E., Stromer, Z., Famely, J., … Humphries, C. (2018). Feasibility of Harbor-wide Barrier Systems. Sustainable Solutions Lab, University of Massachusetts Boston. [link]

Grace, J.B., Johnson, D.J., Lefcheck, J.S., Byrnes, J.E.K., 2018. Quantifying relative importance: computing standardized effects in models with binary outcomes. Ecosphere 9, e02283. [link]

2017

Bowen, J.L., Kearns, P.J., Byrnes, J.E.K., Wigginton, S., Allen, W.J., Greenwood, M., Tran, K., Yu, J., Cronin, J.T., Meyerson, L.A., 2017. Lineage overwhelms environmental conditions in determining rhizosphere bacterial community structure in a cosmopolitan invasive plant. Nature Communications 8, 501. [link]

Mora, F., Jaramillo, V.J., Bhaskar, R., Gavito, M., Siddique, I., Byrnes, J.E.K., Balvanera, P., 2017. Carbon Accumulation in Neotropical Dry Secondary Forests: The Roles of Forest Age and Tree Dominance and Diversity. Ecosystems 20, 2540. [doi]

O’Connor, M.I., Gonzalez, A., Byrnes, J.E.K., Cardinale, B.J., Duffy, J.E., Gamfeldt, L., Griffin, J.N., Hooper, D., Hungate, B.A., Paquette, A., Thompson, P.L., Dee, L.E., Dolan, K.L., 2017. A general biodiversity–function relationship is mediated by trophic level. Oikos 126, 18-31. [doi]

2016

Krumhansl, K.A., Okamoto, D.K., Rassweiler, A., Novak, M., Bolton, J.J., Cavanaugh, K.C., Connell, S.D., Johnson, C.R., Ling, S.D., Micheli, F., Norderhaug, K.M., Pérez-Matus, A., Sousa-Pinto, I., Reed, D.C., Salomon, A.K., Shears, N.T., Wernberg, T., Anderson, R.J., Barrett, N.S., Buschmann, A.H., Carr, M.H., Caselle, J.E., Derienne, S., Edgar, G.J., Edwards, M., Estes, J.A., Goodwin, C., Kenner, M.C., Kushner, D.J., Moy, F.E., Nunn, J., Steneck, R., Vasquez, J.A., Watson, J., Witman, J.D., Byrnes, J.E.K., 2016. Global patterns of kelp forest change over the past half-century. PNAS 113, 13785-13790[link]

Gonzalez, A., Cardinale, B.J., Allington, G.R.H., Byrnes, J., Arthur Endsley, K., Brown, D.G., Hooper, D.U., Isbell, F., O’Connor, M.I., Loreau, M., 2016. Estimating local biodiversity change: a critique of papers claiming no net loss of local diversity. Ecology 97, 1949–1960. [doi]

Rogers, T.L., Byrnes, J.E., Stachowicz, J.J., 2016. Native predators limit invasion of benthic invertebrate communities in Bodega Harbor, California, USA. Marine Ecology Progress Series. 545: 161-173. [doi]

2015

Witman, J. D., R. W. Lamb, and J. E. K. Byrnes. 2015. Towards an integration of scale and complexity in marine ecology. Ecological Monographs 85:475–504. [doi]

Orzechowski, E.A., Lockwood, R., Byrnes, J.E.K., Anderson, S.C., Finnegan, S., Finkel, Z.V., Harnik, P.G., Lindberg, D.R., Liow, L.H., Lotze, H.K., McClain, C.R., McGuire, J.L., O’Dea, A., Pandolfi, J.M., Simpson, C., Tittensor, D.P., 2015. Marine extinction risk shaped by trait-environment interactions over 500 million years. Global Change Biology. 21: 3595–3607. [doi]

Elahi, R., O’Connor, M.I., Byrnes, J.E.K., Dunic, J., Eriksson, B.K., Hensel, M.J.S., Kearns, P.J. 2015. Recent Trends in Local-Scale Marine Biodiversity Reflect Community Structure and Human Impacts. Current Biology. 25: 1938–1943. [doi]

Lefcheck, J.S., Byrnes, J.E.K., Isbell, F., Gamfeldt, L., Griffin, J.N., Eisenhauer, N., Hensel, M.J.S., Hector, A., Cardinale, B.J., Duffy, J.E., 2015. Biodiversity enhances ecosystem multifunctionality across trophic levels and habitats. Nature Communications 6, 6936. [doi]

Finnegan, S., Anderson, S.C., Harnik, P.G., Simpson, C., Tittensor, D.P., Byrnes, J.E., Finkel, Z.V., Lindberg, D.R., Liow, L.H., Lockwood, R., Lotze, H.K., McClain, C.R., McGuire, J.L., O’Dea, A., Pandolfi, J.M., 2015. Paleontological baselines for evaluating extinction risk in the modern oceans. Science 348, 567–570. [doi]

Foster MC, Byrnes JEK, Reed DC. 2015. Effects of five southern California macroalgal diets on consumption, growth, and gonad weight, in the purple sea urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus. PeerJ 3:e719 [doi]

2014
Byrnes, J., J. S. Lefcheck, L. Gamfeldt, J. N. Griffin, F. Isbell, and A. Hector. 2014. Multifunctionality does not imply that all functions are positively correlated. PNAS. [doi]

Byrnes, J. E. K., J. Ranganathan, B. L. E. Walker, and Z. Faulkes. 2014. To Crowdfund Research, Scientists Must Build an Audience for Their Work. PloS one 9:e110329.[doi][pdf]

Gamfeldt, L., J. S. Lefcheck, J. E. K. Byrnes, B. J. Cardinale, J. E. Duffy, and J. N. Griffin. 2014. Marine biodiversity and ecosystem functioning: what’s known and what’s next? Oikos. [doi]

Byrnes, J. E. K., E. Baskerville, B. Caron, C. Neylon, C. Tenopir, M. Schildhauer, A. Budden, L. Aarssen, and C. J. Lortie. 2014. The four pillars of scholarly publishing: The future and a foundation. Ideas in Ecology & Evolution 7:27-33. [doi] [pdf]

Balvanera, P., I. Siddique, L. Dee, A. Paquette, F. Isbell, A. Gonzalez, J. Byrnes, M. I. O’Connor, B. A. Hungate, and J. N. Griffin. 2014. Linking Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services: Current Uncertainties and the Necessary Next Steps. Bioscience. 64: 49-57.[doi] [pdf]

Byrnes, J. E. K., L. Gamfeldt, F. Isbell, J. S. Lefcheck, J. N. Griffin, A. Hector, B. J. Cardinale, D. U. Hooper, L. E. Dee, and J. E. Duffy. 2014. Investigating the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem multifunctionality: Challenges and solutions. Methods in Ecology and Evolution4:111-124. [doi] [arXiv preprint]

Stewart, J.S. Hazen, E.L., Bograd, S.J., Byrnes, J.E.K., Foley, D.G., Gilly, W.F., Robison, B.H., Field, J.C.2014. Combined climate and prey-mediated range expansion of Humboldt squid (Dosidicus gigas), a large marine predator in the California Current System. Global Change Biology. 6: 1832–1843. [doi]

O’Connor, M.I. and Byrnes, J.E.K. 2014. Biodiversity and Ecosystem Function: Does Pattern Influence Process? In: Bertness, M.D., B.R. Silliman, J.F. Bruno and J.J. Stachowicz, eds. Marine community ecology and conservation. Sinauer, Sunderland, MA [amazon]

2013
Bowen, J. L., J. E. K. Byrnes, D. Weisman, and C. Colaneri. 2013. Functional gene pyrosequencing and network analysis: an approach to examine the response of denitrifying bacteria to increased nitrogen supply in salt marsh sediments. Frontiers in Microbiology 4. [doi] [pdf]

Griffin, J. N., Byrnes, J. E. K., and Cardinale, B. J. 2013. Effects of predator richness on prey suppression: a meta-analysis. Ecology. 94:2180-2187. [doi]

Byrnes, J. E. K., B. J. Cardinale, and D. C. Reed. 2013. Interactions between sea urchin grazing and prey diversity on temperate rocky reef communities. Ecology 94:1636-1646. [doi]

2012
Wheat, R. E., Wang, Y., Byrnes, J. E., Ranganathan., J. 2012. Raising money for scientific research through crowdfunding. Trends in Ecology & Evolution. 28: 71-72. [doi] [pdf]

Hooper, D.U., Adair, E.C., Cardinale, B.J., Byrnes, J.E.K., Hungate, B.A., Matulich, KL., Gonzalez, A., Duffy, J.E., Gamfeldt, L., O’Connor, M.I. 2012. Biodiversity loss ranks as a major driver of ecosystem change. Nature. [doi] [pdf]

2011
Ponette-González, A.G. and Byrnes, J.E. 2011. Sustainable science? Reducing the carbon impacts of mega-meetings. Ethnobiology Letters. 2:65-71. [link] [pdf] [commentary in Nature]

Byrnes, J.E., Reed, D.C., Cardinale, B.J., Cavanaugh, K.C., Holbrook, S.J., and Schmitt, R.J. 2011. Climate driven increases in storm frequency simplify kelp forest food webs. Global Change Biology. 17: 2513-2524. [doi] [pdf]

Cardinale, B. J.,Matulich, K. L.,Hooper, D. U., Byrnes, J. E.,Duffy, E., Gamfeldt, L.,Balvanera, P., O’Connor, M. I.,and Gonzalez, A. 2011. The functional role of producer diversity in ecosystems. American Journal of Botany. 98:572-592. [doi] [pdf]

2010
Yang, L.J., Edwards, K.E., Byrnes, J.E., Baston, J.L., Wright, A.N., and Spence, K.O. 2010. A meta-analysis of resource pulse-consumer interactions. Ecological Monographs. 80: 125-151. [doi] [pdf]

2009
Byrnes, J.E. and Stachowicz, J.J. 2009. Short and Long-Term consequences of increases in exotic species richness on water filtration by marine invertebrates. Ecology Letters. 8: 830-841. [doi] [pdf]

Byrnes, J.E. and Stachowicz, J.J. 2009. The consequences of consumer diversity loss: different answers from different designs. Ecology. 90: 2879-2888. [doi] [pdf]

Olyarnik, S.V., Bracken, M.E., Byrnes, J.E., Hughes, A.R., Hultgren, K.M., Stachowicz, J.J. 2009. Ecological factors affecting community invasibility. In Biological Invasions in Marine Ecosystems: Ecological, Management, and Geographic Perspectives. Gil Rilov and Jeff Crooks, eds. Springer-Verlag. pp. 215-138. [doi] [amazon]

2007

Byrnes, J.E., Reynolds, P.L., Stachowicz, J.J. 2007. Invasions and extinctions reshape coastal marine food webs. PLoS One. 2: e295. [doi] [pdf]

Hughes A.R., Byrnes J.E., Kimbro D.L. & Stachowicz J.J. 2007. Reciprocal relationships and potential feedbacks between biodiversity and disturbance. Ecology Letters. 10: 849-864.[doi] [pdf]

Bullard S. G., Lambert G, Carman M.R., Byrnes J., Whitlatch R.B., Ruiz G., Miller R.J., Harris L., Valentine P.C., Collie J.S., Pederson J., McNaught D.C., Cohen A.N., Asch R.G., Dijkstra J., Heinonen K. 2007. The invasive colonial ascidian Didemnum sp.: current distribution, basic biology, and potential threat to marine communities of the northeast and west coasts of North America. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology. 342: 99-108. [doi] [pdf]

2006

Byrnes, J.E., Stachowicz, J.J., Hultgren, K.M., Hughes, A.R., Olyarnik, S.V., Thornber, C. 2006. Predator Diversity Enhances Trophic Cascades in Kelp Forests by Modifying Herbivore Behavior. Ecology Letters. 9: 61-71. [doi] [pdf]

Stachowicz, J.J. and Byrnes, J.E. 2006. Species diversity, invasion success and ecosystem functioning: combining experimental and observational approaches to assess the roles of resource competition, facilitation and extrinsic factors. Marine Ecology Progress Series. 311: 251-262.[doi] [pdf]

2003

Byrnes, J.E. and Witman, J.D. 2003. Impact assessment of an invasive flatworm, Convoluta convoluta, in the southern Gulf of Maine. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology. 293: 173-191. [doi] [pdf]