Field Technology

New terrestrial environmental DNA (eDNA) sampling techniques are sensitive tools for early detection of the highly invasive brown treesnakes (BTS). In a new collaborative research effort involving four USGS science centers, scientists have initiated the development of an innovative point-of-use (POU) assay for BTS. POU assays are tests that can be run in the field with minimal equipment and no...

The GSIL is a state-of-the-art facility located on the Denver Federal Center that specializes in the measurement of light stable isotope — Hydrogen (H), Carbon (C), Nitrogen (N), Oxygen (O), and Sulfur (S) — compositions and other chemical and biomarker analytes in matrices relevant to the Earth sciences. Chemical and isotopic tracers offer novel insights into ecosystem biogeochemistry, food webs...

Biogeochemical cycles impart significant control on ecosystem structure, function, and ecosystem services, such as nutrient sequestration, transformation, long-term storage, mitigation of water quality concerns, and carbon fixation/mineralization processes that support local food webs.

North American bats face unprecedented threats including habitat loss and fragmentation, white-nose syndrome, wind energy development, and climate change. However, it is difficult to evaluate the impacts of these threats due to a lack of basic information about the distribution and abundance of bats across the continent. Although bat monitoring has long been conducted in individual areas and for...

Below are ongoing or completed research projects related to wildlife at the New Mexico Landscapes Field Station.

Invasive species are considered to be second only to habitat degradation in terms of negative impacts on the Earth’s ecosystems, and our scientists make up a significant proportion of the global expertise in the rapidly-growing problem of invasive reptiles.

Research on Guam has led to development and validation of numerous effective control tools, including the advancement of reptile control to support native species recovery.

White-Nose Syndrome (WNS) is a devastating disease that threatens the survival of hibernating bats in North America. Since first documented in the winter of 2005/2006, WNS has spread from a very small area of New York across at least two thousand kilometers and half or more of states and provinces in the U.S. and Canada.

Wind energy is one of the fastest-growing industries in the world and represents an important step toward reducing dependence on nonrenewable sources of power. However, widespread deployment of industrial wind turbines is having unprecedented adverse effects on certain species of bats that roost in trees and migrate. Bats are beneficial consumers of agricultural insect pests and migratory species...