Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center

A citizen’s report of an invasive zebra mussel found in an aquarium moss package found in a pet store prompted a U.S. Geological Survey expert on invasive aquatic species to trigger nationwide alerts that have led to the discovery of the destructive shellfish in pet stores in at least 21 states from Alaska to Florida.  

Reporters: Do you want to interview USGS scientists about the project? Please contact Randy Hines or Marisa Lubeck.

Imperilment and Recovery of the Monarch Butterfly

Date: November 20, 2020 from 2-2:30 p.m. eastern time

Speaker: Wayne Thogmartin, USGS-Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center

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USGS researchers and their collaborators demonstrated the efficacy of using robotic environmental DNA samplers for bio surveillance in freshwater systems, showing that samples collected, processed, and preserved by robotic sampler detect organism DNA in the environment at rates comparable to those collected traditionally by human technicians.

U.S. Geological Survey field crews are measuring flooding across the country as spring weather is in full swing. Warming temperatures, increased precipitation and snowmelt have caused moderate to major flooding in the upper Midwest, East Coast, Central Plains and the Southeast portions of the country.

Two recently published papers suggest the integration of environmental DNA, or eDNA, sampling at select National Streamflow Network streamgages in the U.S. Northwest is feasible.

Amphibian species and community richness has been declining in North America and climate change may play a role in these declines. Global climate change has led to a range shift of many wildlife species and thus understanding how these changes in species distribution can be used to predict amphibian community responses that may improve conservation efforts.

This Story Maps accompanies 4 peer-reviewed publications to provide a convenient and useful tool to access the information contained within these four peer-reviewed publications.  The tree swallow data are easily visualized on a landscape scale, or more detail can be obtained by drilling down.  These data are being used by States and EPA in their Beneficial Use Impairment (BUI) assessments. ...

The public is invited to attend a free, family-friendly open house at a local U.S. Geological Survey center for ecology research on Saturday, September 9.  

Adding milkweeds and other native flowering plants into midwestern agricultural lands is key to restoring monarch butterflies, with milkweed sowers from all sectors of society being critically needed for success. 

As many as 1.8 billion additional stems of milkweed plants may be needed in North America to return imperiled monarch butterflies to a sustainable population size, according to a recently published U.S. Geological Survey study.