Images

Hylocichla mustelina, killed when striking the Hart Senate Building in Washington D.C., during migration, collected with permits by LightsOutDC

A couple more prickly ash photos taken by Helen Low Metzman.

Xylocopa inconstans, one of several species of Carpenter Bees that come from Kruger National Park. This white patch makes it relatively distinct. Part of expeditions led by Jonathan Mawdsley and James Harrison. Photo by Erick Hernandez.

Pollen, pollen, pollen, pollen, on a Melissodes desponsa...a species usually associated with Thistles so this may well be thistle pollen. Note that while bees may carry loads of pollen on their legs...pollen usually gathers loosely all over the bee and this is thought to be the pollen that does much of the pollination on plants.

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.

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

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.