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Ecosystems Mission Area

The USGS Ecosystems Mission Area provides science to help America achieve sustainable management and conservation of biological resources in wild and urban spaces, and places in between.

News

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Friday's Findings: Environmental Contaminants and Agricultural Production

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USGS partners with Havasupai Tribe to identify potential contaminant exposure pathways from Grand Canyon uranium mining

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New guidelines for successful oil and gas reclamation

Publications

Chronic wasting disease: State of the science

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a prion disease affecting cervid species, both free-ranging and captive populations. As the geographic range continues to expand and disease prevalence continues to increase, CWD will have an impact on cervid populations, local economies, and ecosystem health. Mitigation of this “wicked” disease will require input from many different stakeholders including hunters,
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Jason Bartz, Rebeca Benavente, Byron Caughey, Sonja Christensen, Allen Jeffrey Herbst, Ed Hoover, Candace K Mathiason, Debbie I. McKenzie, Rodrigo Morales, Marc D. Schwabenlander, Daniel P. Walsh, NC1209: North American interdisciplinary chronic wasting disease research consortium members

Predicting the spatial distribution of wintering golden eagles to inform full annual cycle conservation in western North America

Wildlife conservation strategies focused on one season or population segment may fail to adequately protect populations, especially when a species’ habitat preferences vary among seasons, age-classes, geographic regions, or other factors. Conservation of golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) is an example of such a complex scenario, in which the distribution, habitat use, and migratory strategies of t
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Z. Wallace, Bryan Bedrosian, J Dunk, David W. LaPlante, Brian Woodbridge, B. Simth, Jessi L. Brown, Todd Lickfett, Katherine Gura, D. Bittner, R. Crandall, Robert Domenech, Todd E. Katzner, K. Kritz, S. Lewis, M. Lockhart, T. Miller, K. Quint, A. Sheading, S. Slater, D. Stahlecker

Eggshell thickness and egg morphometrics in five songbird species from the Central Valley, California

Avian eggshell thickness is an important life history metric in birds and has broad applications across disciplines ranging from animal behavior to toxicology. Empirical eggshell thickness values for songbirds (Order Passeriformes) are under-represented in the literature due to the difficulty of measuring smaller eggs using traditional methods. We used a Hall-effect thickness gauge to measure eggs
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Carley R. Schacter, Sarah H. Peterson, C. Alex Hartman, Mark P. Herzog, Josh T. Ackerman

Science

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6PPD-Quinone

6PPD-Q is a compound used to make tires more durable and is also linked to toxicity for Coho Salmon and other aquatic species.
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Expanding Distribution of Chronic Wasting Disease

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) has been detected in 32 US states and five Canadian provinces in free-ranging cervids and/or commercial captive cervid facilities. CWD has been detected in free-ranging cervids in 32 states and four provinces and in captive cervid facilities in 18 states and three provinces.
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Expanding Distribution of Chronic Wasting Disease

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) has been detected in 32 US states and five Canadian provinces in free-ranging cervids and/or commercial captive cervid facilities. CWD has been detected in free-ranging cervids in 32 states and four provinces and in captive cervid facilities in 18 states and three provinces.
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Fish Slam December 2023

Fifty-four biologists from nine organizations, including USGS, participated in a two-day Fish Slam event on December 13 - 14, 2023 in Southwest Florida.
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Fish Slam December 2023

Fifty-four biologists from nine organizations, including USGS, participated in a two-day Fish Slam event on December 13 - 14, 2023 in Southwest Florida.
Learn More