Danielle Ignace is a ecophysiologist and an associate Professor at University of British Columbia at the Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences. She also is a research associate the Harvard Forest. Ignace is an enrolled member of the Coeur d'Alene Reservation and an advocate for marginalized communities in STEM.^[1][2]

Early life

Ignace grew up in Milwaukee with her mother, an enrolled member of the Menominee tribe and her father is an enrolled member of the Coeur d'Alene Reservation, where Ignace is also an enrolled member. She has two brothers.^[1]

Education

Ignace attended University of Wisconsin–Madison and obtained a B.S. in Zoology and Environmental Studies. She then attended University of Arizona to get her M.S. and P.h.D. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. She nearly went to medical school, but was turned towards her current career path.^[1]

Career

Ignace earned an Ecological Society of America (ESA) Excellence in Ecology Scholarship (EEE) in 2023. She works at University of British Columbia as an associate professor. Previously Ignace worked at Smith College, and is a research associate at the Harvard Forest.^[1][3]

Danielle Ignace's research is lead by an interest in the effects of global climate change on Indigenous communities. Her research is focused on introduced species and how they affect ecosystem nutrient cycling and carbon storage of transitioning ecosystems, how climate change impacts the effects of the introduced species, and what Research models and methods can make impactful predictions.^[1][3][4]

Ignace explores her interest in advocacy by being on the board of the BC Conservation Fund for the BC Parks Foundation. As well a Strategic Advisor for the Silviculture Innovation Program, an elected officer on the Traditional ecological knowledge section of the Ecological Society of America, and the chair for the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion committee for the American Society of Plant Biologists. As an associate editor of the journal Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene, Ignace is "deeply committed to developing Indigenous curriculum and her unique perspective creates a bridge between Indigenous communities and scientists."^[1][2]

Notable publications

• Ignace, D.D., Huxman, T.E., Weltzin, J.F. et al. Leaf gas exchange and water status responses of a native and non-native grass to precipitation across contrasting soil surfaces in the Sonoran Desert. Oecologia152, 401–413 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-007-0670-x^[5]
• Ignace, D.D., Dodson, S.I. & Kashian, D.R. Identification of the critical timing of sex determination in Daphnia magna (Crustacea, Branchiopoda) for use in toxicological studies. Hydrobiologia 668, 117–123 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-010-0534-y^[6]
• Ignace, D.D. and Chesson, P. (2014), Removing an invader: evidence for forces reassembling a Chihuahuan Desert ecosystem. Ecology, 95: 3203-3212. https://doi.org/10.1890/14-0456.1^[7]
• Ignace DD (2019) Determinants of temperature sensitivity of soil respiration with the decline of a foundation species. PLoS ONE 14(10): e0223566. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0223566^[8]