Images

A mountain bluebird eats a giant mistletoe berry in an ash tree in Sedona, Arizona (Oak Creek).  These bluebirds, and many other types of birds, rely on mistletoe berries for sustenance. As a result, they also help distribute the mistletoe seeds.

A mountain bluebird eats a giant mistletoe berry in an ash tree in Sedona, Arizona (Oak Creek).  These bluebirds, and many other types of birds, rely on mistletoe berries for sustenance. As a result, they also help distribute the mistletoe seeds.

Taken at Palmyra National Wildlife Refuge

The turbid waters of the Elwha River and the coastal waters of the Strait of Juan de Fuca mix directly offshore of the river mouth, forming a large coastal plume.  This plume is easily identified by the cloudiness of the water (or "turbidity") resulting from sediment discharged by the river.  Two large dams on the Elwha River were incrementally r

The turbid waters of the Elwha River and the coastal waters of the Strait of Juan de Fuca mix directly offshore of the river mouth, forming a large coastal plume.  This plume is easily identified by the cloudiness of the water (or "turbidity") resulting from sediment discharged by the river.  Two large dams on the Elwha River are being incrementally r

A beard lichen (Usnea sp.) grows on an Island Oak on Santa Rosa Island and helps to create the fog precipitation.

Field photo of shovel-nosed snake (Chionactis occipitalis). Credit Zach Cava/USGS.

Ambystoma californiense - California Tiger Salamander is a A dark brown salamander with yellow spots.

Tecate cypress regeneration, showing charred, open cones on the branches of a dead cypress (top right of photo). Tecate cypress cones are serotinous, meaning they open in response to fire. 

Colorful wildflowers in the Great Basin.

A breeding colony of California common murres (Uria aalge californica) on Prince Island off San Miguel Island off Southern California. Ecologists Josh Adams and Jonathan Felis of the USGS Western Ecological Research Center shot this and other high-resolution digital telephotos from a research vessel, and used the photos to identify nesting and feeding behavior.

This inset of the associated murre colony photo shows evidence of nesting and chick-feeding in a California common murre colony on Prince Island off San Miguel Island off Southern California.

Children react with delight as ecologist Carlton Rochester of the USGS Western Ecological Research Center shows off his reptile expertise at a San Diego Zoo festival.

An Agassiz's desert tortoise hides in a burrow; a radio transmitter is attached to its shell as part of a USGS study.

USGS biologists are leading the monitoring and reintroduction effort of the Southern California mountain yellow-legged frog -- federally listed as endangered with only 200 wild adults remaining in the mountains surrounding Los Angeles County.

In San Francisco Bay, a 15,000-acre tidal wetland restoration project is relying on USGS ecological and hydrological science to inform its planning phases and actions -- actions that will provide America's Silicon Valley with natural flood control, recreational access and wildlife habitat in the coming decades.

Lekking male greater sage-grouse in a sagebrush ecosystem. Photo by Tatiana Gettelman. 

Male northern elephant seal (Mirounga angustirostris) resting on a sandy beach along the coast of California.

Photo of a low elevation community that burned four years prior in the Calico fire, Death Valley National Park. Notice the large amount of plant cover, a large proportion of which is dominated by invasive species like red brome (Bromus rubens) and red-stemmed filaree (Erodium cicutarium).

This is a low elevation community that is unburned. It is immediately adjacent to the Calico fire perimeter (Death Valley National Park). The large amount of herbaceous plant cover (mainly red brome Bromus rubens and red-stemmed filaree Erodium cicutarium) in the understory make this extremely susceptible to burning.

The Western skink (Plestiodon skiltonianus) is a relatively common and widespread lizard in Southern California. It is more secretive and prefers more grassy habitat than the Western fence lizard or the side-blotched lizard, yet USGS and National Park Service biologists are finding signs of genetic isolation in all these species.