Means of controlling or directing human practices, species populations, and physical environment within an ecosystem to achieve a selected state of sustainability.
This web site is an outgrowth of an agreement between the USGS and the New England Aquarium, designed to summarize and make available results of scientific research. It will also present educational material of interest to wide audiences.
Overview of interdisciplinary research studies in Glacier National Park to understand how this mountain wilderness responds to present climatic variability and other external stressors, such as air pollution, and links to detailed reports.
Declines in fish and wildlife populations, water-quality issues, and changes in coastal habitats have prompted this USGS study of the region's nearshore life and environment. Includes links to data from published reports.
An assessment of the potential protective effects on coastal marshes in Louisiana of building barrier berms seaward of the existing barrier islands and inlets to help block or reduce the onshore spread of oil from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
Wetlands and oil wells shouldn't mix, but in some areas they do. This explains what problems may arise and how we study the effects of highly salty water produced by oil wells when it leaks into nearby wetlands and streams.
Spurred by an executive order, Federal agencies will reinvigorate their studies of this important watershed. This fact sheet describes what they plan to do and how.
Explains how we assessed the quality of a wetland as indicated by its plant species composition and abundance for marsh and swamp sites, to summarize the effectiveness of restoration projects in Louisiana.
We conducted a national landowner survey, evaluated short-term vegetation responses to land management practices (primarily grazing, haying, and burning), and initiating a long-term vegetation monitoring study for wetland buffers.
Describes the types of concerns and observations used to help area resource managers analyze actual or potential changes in this highly developed ecosystem.
Guide to identification, selection, and management of grassland habitats in Wisconsin to conserve the populations of grassland birds. Includes glossary, references, bird lists, graphs, and maps.
Homepage for the National Wetlands Research Center, Lafayette, Louisiana with links to general information, staff, issues and capabilities, library, publications and data.
Brief report on map showing the relative vulnerability of the Atlantic coast to changes due to future rise in sea level. Includes links to similar maps in Open-file report 2000-178 on the Pacific Coast and 2000-179 on the Gulf of Mexico Coast.
List and brief abstracts on projects at Patuxent Wildlife Research Center researching wetland ecology and ecosystem management in Eastern United States.
Description of the priority ecosystems studies initiative with links to projects in Chesapeake Bay, Greater Yellowstone, Mojave Desert, Platte River, Salton Sea, San Francisco, and south Florida.
Report on problems in preserving coral reef ecosystems with links to information on the interagency U.S. Coral Reef Task Force, press releases, reports, and NOAA coral reef sites.
The Raptor Information System (RIS) collection and bibliographic database have been transferred to The Peregrine Fund. The RIS records are being subsumed into the bibliography posted on the website of the Global Raptor Information Network (GRIN).
Research results (publications, photographs, maps) on ecological processes within the Mojave Desert Ecosystem to provide land managers with scientific understanding and tools needed to conserve and restore threatened desert landscapes.
Changes in the channel of the river to support commercial use have affected river-corridor habitats and diminished populations of native fish and wildlife; this study seeks to understand those changes to help local resource managers.
Describes how social scientists and natural resource managers work together to develop cooperation and public help in solving complex natural resource issues. Links to the use of public surveys in a project for black-tailed prairie dog management.
Summary of changes to water quality, sediment, aquatic food, native fish, riparian vegetation, and archeological, cultural, and recreational sites since the previous assessment.
Overview of research in the Hawaiian Islands and Guam to gain insight into the structure of coral reefs, to provide the basis for future monitoring, and to understand the influences of natural processes and human activities on coral reef health.