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Eastern Ecological Science Center

At the USGS Eastern Ecological Science Center (EESC), we strive to provide world-class science to inform natural resource decisions that preserve and enhance our quality of life. 

News

Small, common, and hidden: Collecting and integrating data on amphibian species abundances and distribution

Small, common, and hidden: Collecting and integrating data on amphibian species abundances and distribution

Inaugural USGS Wildlife Health Awareness Day - April 25, 2025

Inaugural USGS Wildlife Health Awareness Day - April 25, 2025

Notes from the Field: What’s on a sparrow’s dinner menu?

Notes from the Field: What’s on a sparrow’s dinner menu?

Publications

Bridging social and ecological science to create spatially-explicit models of human-caused mortality of carnivores

Research indicates that human-caused mortality (HCM) is a key factor limiting numerous large carnivore populations. However, efforts to represent HCM in spatially explicit models have generally been limited in scope—often relying on proxies, such as road or human density. Yet such efforts fail to distinguish different sources of HCM, which can arise from different antecedent processes...
Authors
Jeremy T. Bruskotter, Neil H. Carter, Richard E.W. Berl, Joseph W. Hinton, Jazmin Murphy, L. Mark Elbroch, John A. Vucetich

Development of species-specific primers for the identification of Atlantic and shortnose sturgeons

Atlantic (Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus) and shortnose sturgeon (Acipenser brevirostrum) are broadly distributed along the Atlantic Coast of North America, where they use rivers, estuaries, and coastal habitats. In order to support management under the U.S. Endangered Species Act, it is important to understand when and where these fish occur. However, this presents a challenge as the...
Authors
Miluska Olivera Hyde, David C. Kazyak

Ecological thresholds and transformations due to climate change: The role of abiotic stress

An ecological threshold is the point at which a comparatively small environmental change triggers an abrupt and disproportionately large ecological response. In the face of accelerating climate change, there is concern that abrupt ecosystem transformations will become more widespread as critical ecological thresholds are crossed. There has been ongoing debate, however, regarding the...
Authors
Michael J. Osland, John Bradford, Lauren Toth, Matthew Germino, James B. Grace, Judith Z. Drexler, Camille L. Stagg, Eric Grossman, Karen M. Thorne, Stephanie S. Romañach, Davina Passeri, Gregory Noe, Jessica R. Lacy, Ken W. Krauss, Kurt P. Kowalski, Glenn Guntenspergen, Neil Kamal Ganju, Nicholas Enwright, Joel Carr, Kristin B. Byrd, Kevin Buffington

Science

Leading the Way: Specialized Laboratory Contributions to Environmental Health

The Environmental Health Program features a Unified Core Technology Team comprised of multiple laboratories with specialized expertise that support the overall program research assessing actual and perceived risks from environmental contaminants and pathogens. Individual Core Technology Teams work closely with the Integrated Science Teams to ensure current and emerging techniques are being used to...
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Leading the Way: Specialized Laboratory Contributions to Environmental Health

The Environmental Health Program features a Unified Core Technology Team comprised of multiple laboratories with specialized expertise that support the overall program research assessing actual and perceived risks from environmental contaminants and pathogens. Individual Core Technology Teams work closely with the Integrated Science Teams to ensure current and emerging techniques are being used to...
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Seafloor Benthic Mapping and Characterization: Enhancing our Understanding of Aleutian Islands’ Hazards, Potential Seabed Minerals and Deep Corals

A USGS-led expedition in the Aleutian Arc off Alaska will provide critical information on energy resources, underwater earthquakes and other hazards, seafloor habitats, and biological resources, including key fisheries, as well as potential seabed minerals.
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Marine Bird Populations and the Gulf of Mexico Marine Assessment Program for Protected Species (GoMMAPPS)

The objective of the Gulf of Mexico Marine Assessment for Protected Species (GoMMAPPS) project was to document the occurrence and diversity of bird species in nearshore and open sea environments of the Gulf of America for the purposes of better informing regulatory and other decisions that influence the conservation of migratory birds.
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Marine Bird Populations and the Gulf of Mexico Marine Assessment Program for Protected Species (GoMMAPPS)

The objective of the Gulf of Mexico Marine Assessment for Protected Species (GoMMAPPS) project was to document the occurrence and diversity of bird species in nearshore and open sea environments of the Gulf of America for the purposes of better informing regulatory and other decisions that influence the conservation of migratory birds.
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