Species Biology

Detecting invasive species at low densities or prior to population establishment is critical for successful control and eradication. For example, Burmese pythons occupy thousands of square kilometers of mostly inaccessible habitats.

It's hard to imagine a better job than doing fieldwork with the USGS Coastal Ecology crew as they work to keep tabs on the Gulf sturgeon population.

The Joint Ecosystem Modeling team is developing and applying ecological models and other decision support tools for Greater Everglades restoration project planning.

Chicopit Bay, part of the Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve in Florida, is a small embayment at the intersection of San Pablo Creek (part of the Intercoastal Waterway) and the St. Johns River. Home to a number of small oyster beds, this area is now being dredged to help eliminate cross currents from the main shipping channel of the St. Johns. WARC researchers collect baseline environmental...

This website provides access to the list of freshwater gastropods (snails) in Canada and the United States as determined by the 2013 American Fisheries Society (AFS) Endangered Species Committee (ESC) on freshwater gastropods.

This website provides access to the list of crayfish in Canada and the United States as determined by the 2007 American Fisheries Society (AFS) Endangered Species Committee (ESC) on Crayfishes.

Understanding amphibian's life-histories can help predict how they may persist in aquatic habitats in the face of droughts and other climate change-associated events.

Peninsular Florida has a high density of species and ecosystems of conservation concern, as well as many threats to the persistence of native species and their habitats. USGS worked closely with the Peninsular Florida Landscape Conservation Cooperative to define conservation targets to help meet conservation goals.

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...

Population trends suggest that the Florida Grasshopper Sparrow may go extinct within five years. USGS research aims to collect demographic information to help identify the current status of the species.