Images

USGS ecologist and drone pilot Chase Freeman and technician Kylie Mosher prepare for a drone flight at Whiskeytown National Recreation Area.

USGS ecologist and drone pilot Chase Freeman flies a drone for at Whiskeytown National Recreation Area to assess the impacts of the 2018 Carr Fire, while technician Kylie Mosher looks on.

Whitebark pine cone on a seed trap

A Pallid bat (Antrozous pallidus) is outfitted with a radio transmitter to help lead us to its roost. The transmitter is attached with a temporary adhesive that will wear off within around 2 weeks, about as long as the battery life of the transmitter lasts.

An adult, female northern harrier (Circus cyaneus) flies overhead in Suisun Marsh, CA. Before habitat loss drove declines in the bird's populations, Suisun Marsh hosted the state's largest population of northern harriers.

Northern harrier (Circus cyaneus) nestlings in Suisun Marsh, CA. Northern harriers are considered a "species of concern" by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, due to their declining populations.

An adult male Northern Harrier (Circus cyaneus) surveys Suisun Marsh, CA. Males are known for their beautiful, steel-gray plumage.

These tree cores, taken from living trees with an increment borer, show the rings of the tree and allow scientists to learn about the tree's growth.

A Federally endangered salt marsh harvest mouse (Reithrodontomys raviventris) climbs a branch.

A view through the belly port of a plane while cameras collect images during an aerial photographic survey.

The Seabird Studies Team at the USGS Western Ecological Research Center is conducting aerial photographic surveys of the ocean off central and southern California to create comprehensive maps of seabird and marine mammal distributions.

USGS scientist Zach Wenderott extracts a tree core from a charred ponderosa pine in Lassen National Park as part of a study of how prescribed fire influences tree growth.

Dr. Phillip van Mantgem extracts a core sample from a ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) that has experienced
prescribed fire in Lassen National Park, CA.

Dr. Phillip van Mantgem cores a ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) in Lassen National Park, CA.

Scientists use a tool called an increment borer to remove cyllindrical tree cores from living trees. The cores show the tree's rings and help scientists learn about its growth.

USGS scientists attach small metal bands, each with its own ID, to the ankles of adult waterfowl to identify where the animal was caught. When it is re-captured later in its migration, researchers can use that information to determine how far the animal traveled. 

Vehicles drive on an elevated road segment that allows amphibians and reptiles to pass safely beneath and cross the road.

A child peers at an unfertilized chicken egg at the USGS outreach booth, 2018 Suisun Marsh Field Day. USGS waterfowl ecologists use this method to check the development of a fetal duckling in the field.

*Note: photo taken with permission of parent.

A Yosemite toad on a road. Amphibians and reptiles are particularly susceptible to negative effects of roads within their habitat. Many are slow moving, do not avoid roads, and are simply too small for drivers to see and avoid. During rains many amphibians travel long distances regardless of the presence of intersecting roadways.

U.S. Forest Service researcher Stephanie Barnes holds a rare Yosemite toad (Anaxyrus canorus).

A Yosemite toad looks through mesh fencing alongside a road used to mitigate negative road impacts and guide amphibians towards safe passages.

Threatened giant gartersnake (Thamnophis gigas). This semi-aquatic snake lives in rice fields and the remaining wetlands of California's Central Valley.