Species of Management Concern

A severe disease - tentatively named stony coral tissue loss disease - is rapidly killing corals in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey, the University of Puerto Rico, and the National Park Service are working together to better under the disease and determine if the disease affecting corals in the USVI is the same one that has been killing corals in Florida since...

With high numbers of manatees using the Florida Power and Light power plant warm water refuge during winter, their impact on the seagrass beds in the Indian River Lagoon is considered an important indicator of the long-term capacity of the area to support the manatees. USGS is working with partners to investigate the spatial extent and intensity of manatee use of seagrass beds in the area.

Freshwater mussels are considered the most imperiled group of animals in the United States. These animals provide valuable ecological services by filtering water, sequestering nutrients, and providing forage for migratory birds, small mammals, and turtles. They also have a unique and complex life cycle that makes them especially vulnerable to human disturbances. It includes a parasitic larval...

Much of Louisiana's coastal prairie has been converted to rice and sugarcane cultivation. USGS is inventorying bee populations in these areas to explore how effective restoration efforts have been.

Telemetry tracking of captured pythons reveals movement patterns of the invasive Burmese python in the Greater Everglades, information that managers can use to prioritize python control efforts.

WARC is collaborating with USGS scientists from the St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center and other scientists outside USGS to better understand the role of Hurricane Hole as a refuge from changing climate and ocean acidification.

Climate change may reduce the suitability of nesting and foraging habitat used by federally threatened and endangered species, like the Loggerhead sea turtle.

USGS researchers tag and track endangered and threatened sea turtles to inform adaptive management strategies in marine protected areas.

Satellite/GPS tags help USGS researchers understand the movements of American Alligators and American Crocodiles in the Greater Everglades.

USGS researchers evaluate the impact of a pesticide on two imperiled butterfly species in the Florida Keys.

USGS scientists investigate adaptive habitat conservation for Flatwoods salamanders.