Tools and Techniques

Environmental DNA (eDNA) is organismal DNA that can be found in the environment. Environmental DNA originates from cellular material shed by organisms (via skin, excrement, etc.) into aquatic or terrestrial environments that can be sampled and monitored using new molecular methods. Such methodology is important for the early detection of invasive species as well as the detection of rare and...

Loss and fragmentation of sagebrush habitats are among the primary causes of decline in greater and Gunnison sage-grouse. A fundamental need for species conservation is to identify and subsequently maintain a set of connected populations. Landscape genetics combines the fields of population genetics and landscape ecology to investigate how landscape and environmental features affect connectivity...

Branch scientists have developed the Resource for Advanced Modeling (RAM), a modeling facility for collaborative research both within the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and with the wider research community. The facility provides a collaborative working environment for up to 20 scientists from within the USGS and the wider research community. There are networked, wireless computing facilities with...

A large number of bat species are considered “species of concern” in the United States and its Territories, and resource managers are increasingly interested in learning more about their distribution, status, and potential management.

Forecasts of where species might be and what impacts they may have are necessary for management of invasive species. Researchers at FORT are using various approaches to provided needed information to resource managers to combat invasive plants, animals, and disease organisms.

Increased wildfire-induced loss of sagebrush in North American shrublands are outpacing natural recovery and leading to substantial habitat loss for sagebrush-obligate species like sage-grouse. The products and information developed for this project will help restoration practitioners, biologists, and land managers evaluate the efficacy of sagebrush restoration approaches as well as their ability...

US Geological Survey scientists and collaborators are using genetic information contained in sage-grouse feathers collected at leks to define the rangewide network of breeding populations.

USGS has developed Greater Sage-grouse habitat-selection models for the nesting, summer, late brood rearing, and winter life stages in Wyoming to assess habitat quality and responses change across large landscapes.