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Ecosystems Science at USGS

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USGS Landscape Science Strategy

Science informing decision making on public lands and across all of our Nation’s landscapes.

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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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DISCOVRE

Diversity, Systematics and Connectivity of Vulnerable Reef Ecosystems

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The USGS Ecosystems Mission Area

Learn more about us through a visual Geo-Narrative

Our Story

Ecosystems

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.

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Newsletter - EcoNews

Native westslope cutthroat trout swim in the north fork of the Flathead River in northwestern Montana.

This quarterly newsletter highlights ecosystems science and activities coming out of our Science Centers and Cooperative Research Units across the Nation. 

EcoNews Issues

Webinar - Friday's Findings

Colorado Aspen with mountains in the background

A public webinar series meant to offer our audience an opportunity to discover the Ecosystems science capacity within the USGS.

Upcoming Webinars

Where's our Science?

Ecosystems Mission Area Locations

Find out where Ecosystems Science Centers, Field Stations, Climate Adaptation Science Centers, and Cooperative Research Units are located.

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News

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Bird Mortality at Renewable Energy Facilities have Population-Level Effects

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Laying the Groundwork: How the USGS is Deploying the Infrastructure Law’s Investments in Science

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Friday's Findings - May 20, 2022

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Publications

Ungulate migration in a changing climate—An initial assessment of climate impacts, management priorities, and science needs

Executive SummaryMigratory behavior among ungulates in the Western United States occurs in response to changing forage quality and quantity, weather patterns, and predation risk. As snow melts and vegetation green-up begins in late spring and early summer, many migratory ungulates leave their winter range and move to higher elevation summer ranges to access high-quality forage and areas with veget
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Ecosystems, Climate Adaptation Science Centers

Protocols for collecting and processing macroinvertebrates from the benthos and water column in depressional wetlands

Freshwater aquatic macroinvertebrates are key links in food webs and nutrient cycles, and thus often serve as biological indicators of ecosystem health. Macroinvertebrate investigations in research and monitoring require consistent and reliable field and laboratory procedures. Comprehensive standard operating procedures for sampling macroinvertebrates from depressional wetlands, which can range fr
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Ecosystems, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center

Hydraulics of freshwater mussel habitat in select reaches of the Big River, Missouri

The Big River is a tributary to the Meramec River in south-central Missouri. It drains an area that has been historically one of the largest lead producers in the world, and associated mine wastes have contaminated sediments in much of the river corridor. This study investigated hydraulic conditions in four study reaches to evaluate the potential contribution of physical habitat dynamics to mechan
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Ecosystems, Columbia Environmental Research Center
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Science

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Diagram showing per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) movement in the environment.

Per-and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Integrated Science Team

Increasing scientific and public awareness of the widespread distribution of per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in U.S. drinking-water supplies, aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, wildlife, and humans has raised many public health and resource management questions that U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) science can inform. The USGS Environmental Health Program's PFAS Integrated Science Team...
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Ecosystems, Contaminant Biology, Environmental Health Program, Toxic Substances Hydrology
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Per-and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Integrated Science Team

Increasing scientific and public awareness of the widespread distribution of per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in U.S. drinking-water supplies, aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, wildlife, and humans has raised many public health and resource management questions that U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) science can inform. The USGS Environmental Health Program's PFAS Integrated Science Team...
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Bee on wildflower

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.
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Ecosystems, Contaminant Biology, Environmental Health Program, Toxic Substances Hydrology
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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.
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Two small birds at a bird house

PFAS Transport, Exposure, and Effects

The team is determining the movement and behavior of per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from their sources in the environment, as they move through exposure pathways in ecosystems including watersheds and aquifers, their incorporation into food webs, and molecular to population scale effects on fish and wildlife. These studies are accomplished at a variety of spatial scales from regional...
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Ecosystems, Contaminant Biology, Environmental Health Program, Toxic Substances Hydrology
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PFAS Transport, Exposure, and Effects

The team is determining the movement and behavior of per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from their sources in the environment, as they move through exposure pathways in ecosystems including watersheds and aquifers, their incorporation into food webs, and molecular to population scale effects on fish and wildlife. These studies are accomplished at a variety of spatial scales from regional...
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