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Powering Progress

How Science Can Fuel the Energy Resources Life Cycle

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USGS Wildland Fire Science

USGS science helps understand the causes, consequences, and benefits of wildfire and helps prevent and manage larger, catastrophic events.

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USGS Drought Science

Helping managers understand the interactions that determine the magnitude and impact of drought on water availability and ecosystems across the Nation

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Ecosystems Science at USGS

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The USGS Ecosystems Mission Area

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EcoNews

A USGS Ecosystems Mission Area Newsletter

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Friday's Findings

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Ecosystems Mission Area

The USGS Ecosystems Mission Area provides science that directly benefits the health, safety, and prosperity of the American people by providing trusted and timely information to help address the Nation’s toughest management and conservation issues impacting public lands and the surrounding communities that benefit from them. 

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USGS Science for Food & Water Security

A view of a farm field in Iowa

USGS Ecosystems Mission Area science helps ensure safe and abundant domestic food and water supplies, ensuring all Americans access to livelihoods and traditions that connect generations with each other and the outdoors and strengthen America’s self-reliance

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USGS Science for Public Safety & Security

Before and after pictures - Hurricane Rita and Holly Beach, Louisiana, USA

Science within the USGS Ecosystems Mission Area provides a critical advantage in addressing public safety, infrastructure, and security issues surrounding natural disasters and changing landscapes, strengthening America’s ability to be a hazard ready Nation. 

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USGS Science for Economic Growth

A pronghorn stands in front of oil and gas development infrastructure, Vernal, Utah

Science provided by the USGS Ecosystems Mission Area helps boost America’s economy by providing practical tools to implement cost-effective management and development strategies that supports the Nation’s economic growth and protects our natural heritage.

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News

Climate Adaptation Technical Services (CATS): Rapid Science Delivery

Climate Adaptation Technical Services (CATS): Rapid Science Delivery

The Human Side of Recreational Fisheries: CASC Authors Contribute to New Open Access Book

The Human Side of Recreational Fisheries: CASC Authors Contribute to New Open Access Book

EESC in the News: No Simple Swim: The Mysterious Migration of the American Eel

EESC in the News: No Simple Swim: The Mysterious Migration of the American Eel

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Publications

The Appalbees menu: A multiyear, multilocus metagenetic assessment of pollen foraging by Appalachian Bombus affinis workers The Appalbees menu: A multiyear, multilocus metagenetic assessment of pollen foraging by Appalachian Bombus affinis workers

Background Detailed studies of foraging behavior are needed for scientific management of the endangered rusty-patched bumblebee (Bombus affinis) in the disjunct and ecologically differentiated habitats it presently occupies. Current knowledge gaps hinder recovery planning but are challenging to redress through direct observation of rare interactions in the field.Methods We used genetic...
Authors
Robert S. Cornman, Mark J. Hepner, Clint Otto
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Fort Collins Science Center, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center

A snapshot of Joshua tree (Yucca brevifolia and Y. jaegeriana) stand structure in the eastern Mojave Desert of California A snapshot of Joshua tree (Yucca brevifolia and Y. jaegeriana) stand structure in the eastern Mojave Desert of California

The long-term viability of the iconic Joshua tree of the Mojave Desert is being evaluated. In 2022, we measured the abundance and heights of Joshua tree stems on 62 1000 m2 plots in the eastern Mojave Desert of California. The 2022 plots were represented by 33 plots in a population of western Joshua trees (Yucca brevifolia) and 29 plots in a population of eastern Joshua trees (Y...
Authors
Kathryn A. Thomas
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Southwest Biological Science Center

FluOil—A tool for estimating the transport and deposition of oil-particle aggregates in rivers FluOil—A tool for estimating the transport and deposition of oil-particle aggregates in rivers

The FluOil tool was developed to help with planning and early response for oil spills in rivers where subsurface oil-sediment interactions result in the formation of oil-particle aggregates (OPA). The turbulence and variable velocity associated with water flowing within a natural stream channel creates the conditions needed for an oil slick to break up into small droplets and mix in the...
Authors
Faith Fitzpatrick, Collin Roland, Angus Vaughan, Zhenduo Zhu, David Soong, Rachel Sortor
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, Central Midwest Water Science Center, Upper Midwest Water Science Center
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Science

Polar bear mother and two cubs on the Beaufort Sea ice.

Polar Bear Research

Polar bears ( Ursus maritimus) are one of 4 marine mammal species managed by the U.S. Department of Interior. The USGS Alaska Science Center leads long–term research on polar bears to inform local, state, national and international policy makers regarding conservation of the species and its habitat. Our studies, ongoing since 1985, are focused on population dynamics, health and energetics...
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Land Management Research Program, Species Management Research Program, Alaska Science Center
Polar Bear Research

Polar Bear Research

Polar bears ( Ursus maritimus) are one of 4 marine mammal species managed by the U.S. Department of Interior. The USGS Alaska Science Center leads long–term research on polar bears to inform local, state, national and international policy makers regarding conservation of the species and its habitat. Our studies, ongoing since 1985, are focused on population dynamics, health and energetics...
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Image: Long-Billed Curlews

Tracking Data for Long-billed Curlews (Numenius americanus)

Available here are tracking data for the largest shorebird in North America, the long-billed curlew. This species nests in deserts and grasslands of central and western North America and spends the nonbreeding season in agriculture fields and pastures or along coastlines in California, Texas, and Mexico. These data were collected to better understand the migratory patterns of this unmistakable and...
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Alaska Science Center
Tracking Data for Long-billed Curlews (Numenius americanus)

Tracking Data for Long-billed Curlews (Numenius americanus)

Available here are tracking data for the largest shorebird in North America, the long-billed curlew. This species nests in deserts and grasslands of central and western North America and spends the nonbreeding season in agriculture fields and pastures or along coastlines in California, Texas, and Mexico. These data were collected to better understand the migratory patterns of this unmistakable and...
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Mother and young caribou on Yukon-Alaska border

Tracking Data for Caribou (Rangifer tarandus granti)

Available here are tracking data of Caribou, an ungulate that ranges between the Alaska Peninsula, up through interior Alaska and the Arctic Coastal Plain, and over to the Yukon Territory. These data were collected from animals living in three different herds including the Fortymile herd, Nelchina herd, and Denali herd.
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Species Management Research Program, Alaska Science Center
Tracking Data for Caribou (Rangifer tarandus granti)

Tracking Data for Caribou (Rangifer tarandus granti)

Available here are tracking data of Caribou, an ungulate that ranges between the Alaska Peninsula, up through interior Alaska and the Arctic Coastal Plain, and over to the Yukon Territory. These data were collected from animals living in three different herds including the Fortymile herd, Nelchina herd, and Denali herd.
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