USGS EcoNews - Vol. 4 | Issue 2
We hope you enjoy this edition of EcoNews - the quarterly newsletter published by the USGS Ecosystems Mission Area. In this edition we highlight the 2024 Presidential Budget Request, 2022 science highlights from our Cooperative Research Units and Climate Adaptation Science Centers, USGS science on why wildlife migration matters, plus much more!
President Proposes Nearly $1.8 Billion for USGS Science in FY 2024
Science investments focus on landscape-scale issues, natural disasters and critical minerals while preparing tomorrow’s workforce
2022 Climate Adaptation Science Centers Annual Summary
In Fiscal Year 2022 (October 2021-September 2022), the National and Regional CASCs worked closely with partners to accomplish a multitude of science-based achievements!
Migration Matters
By Land, Air, and Water – USGS Science Supporting Fish and Wildlife Migrations Throughout North America
Why People Need Freshwater Biodiversity
National CASC Fish Biologist Abigail Lynch worked with an international team of researchers to describe nine ways that freshwater biodiversity is critical to humans.
Pesticides Detected in Bees, Flowers, Soil, and Air within Pollinator-Attractive Row-Crop Border Plantings
Field study in California describes the potential for pollinator-attractive field borders in agricultural areas to become a pesticide exposure pathway to bees through soil, air, and plants.
Climate Warming is Likely to Cause Large Increases in Wetland Methane Emissions
A new USGS study has big implications for climate change mitigation plans to reduce greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
New insight on sea duck hearing could help protect them from fishing nets
It’s estimated that more than 100,000 sea ducks are killed worldwide annually when caught in large fishing nets known as gillnets. A recent study identifies the frequencies at which sea ducks can hear underwater, and the findings can help inform decisions on the use of sound devices to deter ducks from nets and other threats.
New study describes HPAI infections in wild mammals in US
Highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 virus (HPAIv) has been present in North America since its first detection in wild birds in November 2021 (Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada), and has subsequently spread across the Americas.
Building maps to help geothermal energy and greater sage-grouse coexist in Nevada’s sagebrush country
A U.S. Geological Survey study finds that geothermal energy development contributes to population declines of greater sage-grouse. A new tool can help managers and energy developers consider impacts to the iconic bird when siting new geothermal projects.
Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria Acquired by Wild Birds in Urban Settings and Dispersed via Migration
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists have developed a model that demonstrates how migratory wild birds in urban areas can acquire bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics, including those used in clinics, and potentially disperse these bacteria between continents via migration.
How sea ice, ocean currents, and climate change may have affected early human migration to North America
Based on paleoclimate records and climate models, researchers have identified the most feasible time periods for early human migrations along the coastal route between Beringia and North America during the end of the last ice age.
Webinar Series - Friday's Findings
Friday's Findings is a public webinar series hosted by the USGS Ecosystems Mission Area. These half hour webinars are meant to provide listeners an overview of the science topic and chance to ask questions. We hope to offer our audience an opportunity to discover the Ecosystems science capacity within the USGS.