Tools and Techniques

The National Early Detection Rapid Response (EDRR) Information System is an emerging online resource for invasive species information sharing and collaboration that serves as the information hub of the National EDRR Framework. This centralized network will improve access to existing and emerging information resources and expand collaboration to facilitate early detection and rapid response to...

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.

Many managers are hampered by the scope of the invasive species problem compared to their available resources. Habitat suitability models of invaders can help fill this resource gap, helping with activities such as watch list compilation and targeted surveillance and eradication efforts.

Sagebrush ecosystems, one of the most imperiled in North America, face continued and widespread degradation due to multiple factors, including climate change, invasive species, and increased human development. Effective sagebrush management must consider how to best conserve and restore habitats to stem the decline of species that rely on them, especially given limited conservation resources. To...

USGS is working closely with partners in the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), and the Intermountain West Joint Venture (IMJV) to collect and summarize spatial datasets that describe measurable aspects of invasive annual grasses (e.g., biomass or presence) across the western United Stated and beyond. The products developed through this project provide...

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.

USGS scientists are identifying local adaptation in sage-grouse by modeling allelic variation at large numbers of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in relation to environmental and climate variables.

Using the existing rangewide genetic and demographic data, scientists from the USGS, USDA Forest Service, and University of Waterloo will assess the relative contributions of habitat and genetic connectivity to lek size and stability.

USGS and Colorado State University scientists are modelling multispecies connectivity through intact and disturbed areas of the sagebrush landscape.

Resistance and resilience concepts provide an important framework for sagebrush habitat management. Existing spatial products have been developed using NRCS soil data; models using new data and methods can improve these products.

Many issues currently facing the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and other large land managers span large landscapes, including sage-grouse conservation, wildfires, and energy development. Such challenges involve changes at both local and broad scales, but monitoring has typically focused at the scale of individual sites. The USGS is working to develop broad-scale indicators for monitoring...

A requirement for managing a species, be it a common native species, a species of conservation concern, or an invasive species, is having some information on its distribution and potential drivers of distribution. Branch scientists have been tackling the question of where these types of species are and where they might be in the future.