Images

Austin Parker is a wildlife biologist and Resource Advisor for federal wild land fires. Among other certifications, he hold US FWS recovery permits for California gnatcatchers, El Segundo blue butterfly, and Palos Verdes Blue Butterfly.

Bulldozer lines create breaks in vegetation and are commonly used when fighting wildfires.  This dozer line was created during the Palisades Fire in Los Angeles County, California in January 2025.

Cinnamon teal with a GPS tracking backpack that weighs 10 grams, making it much more successful in staying on longer than heavier tracking devices. 

Lake Abert, Oregon is one of the 20 terminal lakes identified by USGS partners as priority ecosystems for study by the Saline Lakes Ecosystems IWAA.

Goose Lake, on the Oregon-California border, is one of the 20 terminal lakes identified by USGS partners as priority ecosystems for study by the Saline Lakes Ecosystems IWAA. 

Observing southern sea otter foraging behavior from San Nicolas Island, California.

Summer Lake, Oregon is one of the 20 terminal lakes identified by USGS partners as priority ecosystems for study by the Saline Lakes Ecosystems IWAA.

Trend estimation calculated from seven nadirs defining six unique periods of complete population oscillation. Purple lines indicate periods of erroneous inference about population trend. Green lines indicate nadir-to-nadir inference and more accurate trend estimation.

This gif provides a preview of the output of the trends application and shows how a user can click between tabs in the tool to access the results. The tool allows the user to explore population abundance and growth rates within their area of interest across all population low points. The tool outputs are provided in map, figure, and table formats.

A fringe-toed lizard (Acanthodactylus cf. boskianus) not native to California was discovered in Ventura County, California on October 14, 2023.

The fringe-toed lizard (Acanthodactylus cf. boskianus) is an introduced species to the United States. It was found in Ventura County, California on October 14, 2023. USGS biologists are investigating its distribution and how to eradicate the species most efficiently before it becomes invasive. (Photo: Spencer Williams, USGS) 

Each dot is a GPS location collected between 2015-2023.

A team of biologists prepares to measure, weigh, and tag a captured bats. On the left, USGS biologist Gabe Reyes has a bat in a bag, used to separate and calm the bats. USGS biologist Julia Ersan is holding some alcohol used to ensure clean instruments and work surfaces, and USGS biologist Austin Waag is getting something out of a backpack.

A female Wilson’s phalarope with 2-gram Sunbird PTT transmitter. Wilson's phalaropes spin around in the water to stir up invertebrates to snack on. Large flocks gather on terminal lakes in the American west before migrating as far as southern most South America.

Mountain yellow-legged frog habitat found in a riparian area of Los Angeles County.

Newly released mountain yellow-legged frogs (Rana muscosa), Los Angeles County. Mountain yellow-legged frogs were bread and captivity then released.

Mountain yellow-legged frogs (Rana muscosa) in their transport containers being acclimated to their new habitat, Los Angeles County.

Research in the field means making the most of your surroundings! Scientist Andrea Mott set up this work station on the dry lake bed of Lake Abert to get the birds banded with GPS trackers close to where they were captured. 

Austin Waag performing radio-telemetry at Glacier Point with Half Dome in the background, as part of a project tracking bats in Yosemite National Park.

Biologists set up a triple-high mist net to capture bats with El Capitan, one of Yosemite's most iconic rock formations, in the background, as part of a study to track bats in Yosemite.

A community of intact biocrusts dominated by cyanobacteria was spotted during a biocrust and vegetation survey at a horse disturbance plot in Caliente, NV. The pinnacles were ~3-7cm in height.