Threatened and Endangered

USGS' and Loyola University New Orleans' innovative research techniques played a role in the decision to downlist the Okaloosa Darter, a freshwater fish endemic to northwest Florida, from Endangered to Threatened in 2011, and the removal of the fish from the U.S. Endangered Species Act in 2023.

USGS researchers will examine how hydrology and landscape vegetation changes impact Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow survival and population growth.

WARC researchers partnered with Gulf Sturgeon decision makers and biologists to develop a Bayesian network model that uses habitat characteristics to predict the quantity of juvenile winter foraging habitat under alternative river discharge and timing of juvenile arrival scenarios.

WARC researchers partnered with beach mice managers and biologists to estimate habitat objectives and the amount of effort needed to achieve the habitat objective (i.e., management efficiency) for three beach mice subspecies in Florida’s panhandle.

Researchers will develop and optimize an eDNA assay to delineate the current distribution of P. inflatus. The assay will then be used to provide up-to-date distributional information and detection rates for P. inflatus in the Pearl River basin.

WARC researchers are organizing Florida bonneted bat echolocation recordings into a database to assess population trends and bat response to management actions.

Sampling for Gulf Coast waterdogs is providing essential information to better understand the factors that impact the species' occupancy across Louisiana.

WARC researchers are performing visual encounter surveys and passively capturing Cuban treefrogs to remove as many of the invasive anurans as possible.

WARC researchers sampled anuran populations at sites within Big Thicket National Preserve to explore saltwater intrusion on these populations.

WARC researchers are using automated recording units to monitor southern crawfish frogs and Strecker's chorus frogs in Louisiana.

In response to growing public concerns about this loss of biodiversity, the U.S. Congress funded the Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative (ARMI), a national program coordinated by the U.S. Geological Survey.

The USGS is working with the Peninsular Florida Landscape Conservation Cooperative to develop forecast models that integrate potential impacts from external drivers for selected conservation targets and priority resources.