Images

Northern dusky salamanders (Desmognathus fuscus) are a species of stream-adapted salamander found throughout the northeastern US. The larvae are aquatic and live in streams, while the adults live on streambanks. This individual is a juvenile, and it has only recently lost its gills and left the water.

A banded Golden-winged warbler, that died as a result of a window collision.                    

A band of a Golden-winged warbler, that died as a result of a window collision.                  

Using the Smith Root sampler for eDNA collection in Big Pool within Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Park in June, 2023. eDNA will be extracted and sequenced to look for the presence of amphibians. 

Two 4-foot wide baffled chute fishways are tested side-by-side in the Conte Lab's Fish Passage Complex's east flume.  The fish ladders are instrumented with passive integrated transponder antennas/reader.  River herring, collected from the mouth of the Chicopee River are tested to assess entry and ascent rates.

USGS Fish Biologist Aaron Heisey and EESC colleagues enter the east flume in the Conte Lab's Fish Passage Complex after the conclusion of a study trial to recover adult white suckers.

Alexis Weinnig, a biologist with the USGS, explains the importance of USGS marine research and the partnership between UGSG and NOAA Ocean Exploration to a public audiance. This was during a port event in Seattle, WA. 

Overhead view of a microplate with a dilution gradient.  The targeted bioassay is designed to identify bioreactivity at varying concentrations. 

Charlie Shafer and Adrianne Brand staff the "Exploring Amphibians of the Northeast" booth at the 2023 Earth Day Celebration and Open House hosted at the USGS Eastern Ecological Science Center - Leetown Research Laboratory. 

EESC's Heather Walsh shows off the results of a fish dissection conducted as part of the 2023 Earth Day Celebration and Open House at the Leetown Research Laboratory. 

A hand-drawn sign welcomes visitors to the USGS Eastern Ecological Science Center's Aquatic Ecology Lab as part of the 2023 Earth Day Celebration and Open House at the Leetown Research Laboratory.

EESC's Health Walsh shows a public visitor anatomical structures of a fish as part of the 2023 Earth Day Celebration and Open House at the Leetown Research Laboratory. 

A visitor from the public learns about amphibians at the Northeast Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative's booth at the 2023 Earth Day Celebration and Open House at USGS Eastern Ecological Science Center - Leetown Research Laboratory.

USGS Eastern Ecological Science Center staff prepare for public visitors at the Northeast Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative booth, part of the 2023 Earth Day Celebration and Open House at the Leetown Research Laboratory.

An American toad, Anaxyrus americanus, is included as part of the exhibit booth "Exploring Amphibians of the Northeast" at the 2023 Earth Day Celebration and Open House at the USGS Eastern Ecological Science Center - Leetown Research Laboratory. 

Stonefly larvae, a type of aquatic macroinvertebrate. These individuals were collected for display during the 2023 Earth Day Celebration and Open House at USGS Eastern Ecological Science Center - Leetown Research Laboratory. 

Hellgrammites are the larval form of Dobson flies. These individuals were collected as part of the aquatic macroinvertebrates booth at the 2023 Earth Day Celebration and Open House hosted by the USGS's Eastern Ecological Science Center - Leetown Research Laboratory. 

In April, USGS scientist Alexis Weinnig and other scientists collected eDNA during a deep-sea exploration aboard the NOAA Ship Okeanos Explore as part of the NOAA Ocean Exploration expedition, EX2301. During the trip, a Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROV) collected water that was filtered on board the ship for eDNA left in the water by nearby organisms.

Alexis Weinnig, USGS Biologist, and NOAA Scientist Ashley Marranzino work together to filter seawater for eDNA from a CTD rosette while aboard the NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer. eDNA will allow for the detection of biology in the surrounding seawater.

Screenshot of EcoSHEDS home page, a USGS web application. EcoSHEDS is a collection of Spatial Hydro-Ecological Data Systems (SHEDS) designed to improve our understanding of stream ecosystems.

Toads (Anaxyrus sp.) lay their eggs in long thin strands, which helps distinguish them from other anuran species which may lay their eggs singly or in round clusters.