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Click on the articles below to read about the latest WERC scientific discoveries.

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Amphibians have one more thing to worry about—mercury—large USGS study shows

RESTON, Va. — The first widescale assessment of methylmercury in adult amphibians in the U.S. to date shows that, in amphibians, this toxic compound...

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3 Cool Ways USGS is Studying Bats in National Parks

From the latest wildlife tracking tech to collaboration with recreationalists, USGS scientists and partners are using innovative methods to study bats...

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Annual Southern Sea Otter Census Temporarily Modified

The annual rangewide southern sea otter census has been temporarily modified to adapt to limitations that prevented surveys from airplanes in 2021 to...

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Research Spotlight: What Habitat Features Make Duck Nests Vulnerable to Raccoons and Striped Skunks?

Research by USGS scientists finds that predator-specific behaviors can shape where duck nests are most vulnerable in Suisun Marsh, CA. The findings...

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Building maps to help geothermal energy and greater sage-grouse coexist in Nevada’s sagebrush country

A U.S. Geological Survey study finds that geothermal energy development contributes to population declines of greater sage-grouse.  A new tool can...

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Saline Lakes Stakeholder Workshop Meeting Materials

In fall 2022, the Saline Lakes Team held three two-day virtual workshops to identify stakeholder science priorities for the Great Basin terminal lakes...

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New research shows people, wildlife, and marine environment benefit when island-ocean connections are restored

An international team of researchers has found that restoring and rewilding islands decimated by damaging invasive species benefits coastal and marine...

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USGS Scientists are Authors on New Framework for Seabirds and Offshore Wind Energy

Scientists from the USGS Western Ecological Research Center (WERC) are authors on a new framework for addressing the impacts of offshore wind farms on...

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Environmental Impacts on Space Use of Mohave Ground Squirrels

Mohave ground squirrels are small rodents native to the western Mojave Desert of California and are listed as threatened under the California...

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Research Spotlight: Vegetation Type Conversion in the Southwest -- Observations and Management Takeaways

Two new publications describe how forests, shrublands, and grasslands are being transformed into different ecosystem types in response to severe and...

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Revisiting a Marine Mammal Mystery, with the Help of New Data and Powerful Statistics

New techniques and a massive dataset have helped USGS scientists and partners determine why sea otter populations in southwest Alaska collapsed in the...

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Emeritus and Distinguished Alumni Profile: Jim Estes Explains How Sea Otters Run the world

Over a decades-long career as a federal scientist, Jim Estes’s groundbreaking work on sea otters has shown just how much these fuzzy animals can teach...

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