Distinguished Research Professor 2024

James E. “Jeb” Byers, UGA Athletic Association Professor in the Odum School of Ecology, is an internationally prominent scientist in the disciplines of population, community, and marine ecology. He is best known for his research quantifying and predicting the success of biological invasions. Byers has performed some of the world’s leading ecological studies on interactions among native organisms and nonnative species, including along Georgia’s coast. He has built mechanistic mathematical models to analyze the impacts of climate change, including expansions of invasive parasites and subtropical species into the state’s marine and freshwater resources. His approach combines experimental work and fieldwork at local, regional, and continent-wide scales with computational models, providing critical theoretical insights. Byers also is known for contributions to host-parasite ecology, ecosystem engineering, and the maintenance and evolution of species-range boundaries. His body of research has been cited more than 16,500 times, with 17 papers exceeding 200 citations each.