Tools and Techniques

The distribution of species across the landscape is of great interest to conservation biology. Habitat quality and quantity are thought to be important drivers of occurrence and distribution, and numerous studies have demonstrated fitness-related consequences. However, for species with cryptic or migratory life histories, we often lack sufficient detail about habitat usage and in many cases...

Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS) are an emerging technology which may result in safer and improved methods to conduct wildlife surveys. The objective of this task is to test the capabilities of various cameras and sensors onboard a small Unoccupied (or unmanned) Aircraft System (sUAS) to determine if they are a useful and effective tool to inventory various flora and fauna important to USGS...

Biogeochemical cycling is a cornerstone of ecosystem function and structure. Much has been learned about element cycles in a variety of systems using standard geochemical techniques.

The Molecular Ecology Laboratory applies genetic and genomic technologies to address a variety of complex questions and conservation issues facing the management of the Nation's fish and wildlife resources. Together with our partners, we design and implement studies to document genetic diversity and the distribution of genetic variation among individuals, populations, and species. Information from...

Genetic analysis is increasingly used to understand ecosystem processes and inform conservation, management, and policy. I assist USGS researchers and their collaborators in the design, analysis, and interpretation of high-throughput genetic studies. Common applications include: detecting genes responsive to particular environmental stressors in a sentinel species or species of conservation...

Conservation genomics is a new field of science that applies novel whole-genome sequencing technology to problems in conservation biology. Rapidly advancing molecular technologies are revolutionizing wildlife ecology, greatly expanding our understanding of wildlife and their interactions with the environment. In the same way that molecular tools such as microsatellites revolutionized wildlife...

Landscape genetics is a recently developed discipline that involves the merger of molecular population genetics and landscape ecology. The goal of this new field of study is to provide information about the interaction between landscape features and microevolutionary processes such as gene flow, genetic drift, and selection allowing for the understanding of processes that generate genetic...

Population genetics is an area of research that examines the distribution of genetic variation and levels of genetic diversity within and between populations. This information provides insights into the level of connectedness of populations throughout a species’ range and can be used to identify unique populations or those with low levels of genetic diversity.

Molecular tagging is a new application of molecular genetic techniques to traditional mark-recapture methodology designed to address situations where traditional methods fail. In such studies, non-invasively collected samples (such as feces, feathers, or fur) are used as a source of DNA that is then genotyped at multiple loci such that each individual animal can be uniquely identified. Thus, each...

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...

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...

Taxonomic uncertainty can be assessed using genetic data, along with other lines of evidence (such as morphological and behavioral characteristics). Such data can be used to identify and assess taxonomic boundaries (species, subspecies, hybrids) and in many cases redefine them. Such delineations are highly relevant for species status determinations (endangered, threatened, or at-risk).