Wetland and Aquatic Research Center

A new genetic analysis of invasive pythons captured across South Florida finds the big constrictors are closely related to one another. In fact, most of them are genetically related as first or second cousins, according to a study by wildlife genetics experts at the U.S. Geological Survey.

U.S. Geological Survey scientists have been honored as Recovery Champions by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Southeast Region for their long-term research efforts on the Florida manatee. 

No one has a crystal ball to foresee what will happen during the 2018 hurricane season that begins June 1, but NOAA forecasters say there’s a 75 percent chance this hurricane season will be at least as busy as a normal year, or busier.

A population of exotic invasive Cuban treefrogs has been discovered in New Orleans, more than 430 miles (700 kilometers) from the nearest known population in Florida, making this the first known breeding population in the mainland United States outside that state, reports a new study by the U.S. Geological Survey. 

Scroll down to hear and download calls of Cuban treefrogs and two native treefrogs.

Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, Maria, and Nate may have spread non-native freshwater plants and animals into new water bodies, where some of them can disrupt living communities or change the landscape.

Environmental DNA picks up traces of the elusive mammals’ saliva, skin, waste, or exhaled breaths.

Florida's second-largest turtle rescue of 21^st century is “exhausting, inspiring,” USGS biologist says

Coral reef expert Caroline Rogers was the only USGS employee in the Virgin Islands when the Category 5 storm hit.

A deadly amphibian disease called severe Perkinsea infections, or SPI, is the cause of many large-scale frog die-offs in the United States, according to a new study by the U.S. Geological Survey. 

Scientists beginning a three-week research cruises to study deep-sea corals, canyons and seeps departed from Norfolk, Virginia on September 12 after a one-day delay due to the effects of Hurricane Irma. USGS research oceanographer Amanda Demopoulos is the lead scientist for this cruise, the first of three planned as part of a four-and-a-half year study.

A non-native insect infestation may not be the only factor involved in the ongoing die-back of a marsh grass in the Mississippi River’s “bird foot delta,” the ecologically and economically important part of coastal Louisiana where the river meets the Gulf of Mexico.