USGS CoreCast

The wet, subtropical wilderness of Everglades National Park is home to a diversity of Floridian wildlife, but one invader is causing severe changes in these native animal populations. Many of the park’s mammals are declining dramatically as a result of invasive Burmese pythons, according to a recent study by U.S. Geological Survey scientists and partners. Mid-sized mammals such as foxes, rabbits, and raccoons that were previously populous in the Everglades are the most severely affected. USGS scientist and co-author Robert Reed to discusses the Burmese python situation and what these mammal declines mean for the Everglades ecosystem.

Scientific integrity runs deep at USGS. What is it exactly, and why is it so important? Find out in this episode of CoreCast. Host Kara Capelli talks with Linda Gundersen, Director of the USGS Office of Science Quality and Integrity.

Drought in Africa is of increasing concern as millions are suffering from malnutrition and difficulty growing crops and supporting livestock. Stunted growth in children due to malnutrition was also recently linked to climate change. Join us as we talk with USGS scientists Jim Verdin, Jim Rowland and Chris Funk about what is being done to help.

USGS Research Hydrologist Jim Landmeyer discusses how living plants can be used to clean up contaminated groundwater through a process termed phytoremediation.

White-nose syndrome is a deadly disease in North American bats that has been spreading rapidly since its 2006 discovery in N.Y. State. Thus far, bat declines in the northeastern U.S. have exceeded 80%. For the first time, scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey and partner institutions have identified the cause of WNS as a fungus appropriately known as Geomyces destructans. The research, which was conducted at the USGS NWHC in Madison, Wisc., further demonstrates that the fungus can be spread through contact between individual bats during hibernation. USGS microbiologist David Blehert to discusses these significant findings.

In this episode, we follow a group of students from the Jane Goodall Environmental Middle School on a class trip to Pintail Marsh at the Ankeny National Wildlife Refuge. There they join USGS ecologist Tara Chestnut to investigate and sample for the amphibian chytrid fungus. Join us, as we explore how research and wonder can bring greater light to this potentially fatal fungus, only in this episode of the USGS Oregon Science Podcast.

Video Credits: Tara Chestnut, Keara Gann, JGEMS Students

Producer: Steven Sobieszczyk

America has questions about climate change, and the USGS has real answers. In this episode of Climate Connections, USGS scientists answer questions gathered from the beautiful Glacier National Park in Montana. Questions include:

• When I come back in ten years, what will I see in Glacier National Park?
• How is climate change impacting the glaciers?
• Does all the snow we received this winter help the glaciers?
• How do receding glaciers and climate change affect the local economy in terms of recreation, agriculture, tourism?

Producer: Jessica Robertson
Director: Ray Douglas
Additional Video Credits: Leslie Allen, Suzanna Carrithers Soileau, Don Becker