Images

Rarity here. This is species was described in the 1950s, named after the town it was collected near and only a handful of specimens have ever been collected that I am aware of. In fact it is so rare that it was on our list of "missing" species, published in 2011.

A December view of the Nebraska Sandhils - the largest uncultivated grassland in the North America.  This is one of the control sampling localities for the project on effects of crop production on prairie grouse microbiome. 

One of our frequent visitors at the Conte Lab: a juvenile bald eagle over the Turners Falls power canal. The canal provides the lab with water for fish rearing and flumes, and provides sustenance for eagles and osprey, minks and otters.

Histology laboratory with microtoming area to the left.  Microtoming is when tissues are cut into very thin slices and placed on glass slides prior to being stained and coveslipped.  In the center is the incubator where slides are dried when needed.

Histology laboratory with coverslipping area to the left.  Coverslipping is when tissues cross-sections that are dried onto slides are coverslipped with a thin piece of glass.  In the center is the file/record keeping area where every sample was logged and given a study number.

Kirby on a beach in Iceland, Nov 2019                                          

USGS Eastern Ecological Science Center - Kearneysville, WV campus           

Kirby on a beach in Iceland, Nov 2019                              

Two USGS scientist implant a radio tag in a sedated brown trout as a Deerfield River Watershed Chapter of Trout Unlimited volunteer looks on

When Brown Pelican hatch they are small, featherless and helpless. These birds can grow from tiny nestlings to flighted juveniles in 12 weeks.

Melissa Roach, biologist with the Patuxent Bird Banding Lab, bands a pelican chick on Smith Island in the Chesapeake Bay.

Immature oocytes within the testicular tissue of a smallmouth bass.  The histological or cellular appearance of an intersex smallmouth bass. Immature oocytes (white arrows) are present within the testicular tissue which also contains mature sperm (yellow arrows).

Eelgrass (Zostera marina) forms extensive meadows in low intertidal and shallow subtidal areas of estuaries and embayments along the Northwest Atlantic coast. Ranked among the most productive plant communities on the planet, eelgrass beds are noted for contributing valuable ecosystem functions and services to the coastal zone.

Three biologists with the USGS Bird Banding Lab at Patuxent Wildlife Research Center prepare to band pelican chicks on Smith Island in the Chesapeake Bay.

Researchers monitoring frame for marked bees and colony health.  The associated project is Impacts of fossil fuels on pollinators.

Bees tagged to allow researchers to monitoring their foraging behavior.

Associated project title "Impacts of fossil fuel combustion on pollinators"

Bee with tag light blue 84 on comb. Bees tagged so researchers can monitor individual bee foraging behavior. 

Johanna Nifosi uses forceps to sample a flower for eDNA extraction in Indiana Dunes National Park. eDNA will be extracted and sequenced for the detection of pollinators such as bees. 

Two double-crested cormorant chicks in their nest on Smith Island in the Chesapeake Bay, Maryland.

Leetown Science Center researcher, Dr. Deborah Iwanowicz is collaborating with Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center.  Dr. Clint Otto, who has the lead on a project designed to identify and improve forage for honey bees on USDA Conservation Lands.  Dr.

Leetown Science Center researcher, Dr. Deborah Iwanowicz, is preparing honey bees for analysis of the Lake Sinai Virus (LSV).  This type of work is important to society as pollinators are critical for sustaining healthy ecosystems and prosperous human populations.