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The USGS Ecosystems Mission Area

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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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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.

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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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Smallmouth bass mercury levels linked to habitat types along the Snake River 

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USGS ecologist forges the key to unlocking a long-standing scientific debate about habitat fragmentation

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USGS Friday's Findings—December 1, 2023

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Publications

Reservoir stratification modulates the influence of impoundments on fish mercury concentrations along an arid land river system

Impoundment is among the most common hydrologic alterations with impacts on aquatic ecosystems that can include effects on mercury (Hg) cycling. However, landscape-scale differences in Hg bioaccumulation between reservoirs and other habitats are not well characterized nor are the processes driving these differences. We examined total Hg (THg) concentrations of Smallmouth Bass (Micropterus dolomieu
Authors
James Willacker, Collin Eagles-Smith, Jim Chandler, Jesse Naymik, Ralph Myers, David P. Krabbenhoft
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

Selection of microhabitats, plants, and plant parts eaten by a threatened tortoise: Observations during a superbloom

Populations of the threatened desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) continue to decline throughout the geographic range, in part because of degraded and fragmented habitats in the Mojave and western Sonoran deserts. The species is herbivorous and highly selective in choice of plant species. To increase options for recovery, we analyzed behaviors, patterns of movements while foraging, and parts of p
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W. Bryan Jennings, Kristin H. Berry
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

Proximity to roads does not modify inorganic nitrogen deposition in a topographically complex, high traffic, subalpine forest

Vehicles are an important source for N deposition that may negatively impact roadside ecosystems. While elevated roadside N deposition has been found in many locations, it is not yet known if vehicle emissions cause measurable increases of N deposition in complex, mountainous terrain adjacent to roads. To address this, this study investigated the effect of vehicle N emissions on throughfall (throu
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Katherine S. Rocci, M. Francesca Catrufo, Jill Baron
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Fort Collins Science Center
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Science

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Drill rig in the distance off a dirt road in a semi-aid system.

Southwest Energy Exploration, Development, and Reclamation (SWEDR)

Approximately 35% of the US and approximately 82% of DOI lands are “drylands” found throughout the western US. These lands contain oil, gas, oil shale, shale oil, and tar sand deposits and the exploration for and extraction of these resources has resulted in hundreds of thousands of operating and abandoned wells across the West. These arid and semi-arid lands have unique soil and plant communities...
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Land Management Research Program, Species Management Research Program, Fort Collins Science Center, Southwest Biological Science Center, Western Geographic Science Center
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Southwest Energy Exploration, Development, and Reclamation (SWEDR)

Approximately 35% of the US and approximately 82% of DOI lands are “drylands” found throughout the western US. These lands contain oil, gas, oil shale, shale oil, and tar sand deposits and the exploration for and extraction of these resources has resulted in hundreds of thousands of operating and abandoned wells across the West. These arid and semi-arid lands have unique soil and plant communities...
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Spawing sockeye salmon in a Matanuska River side channel, Alaska

Fish and Aquatic Ecology

Fish and aquatic habitats in Alaska support important commercial, sport, and subsistence fisheries and provide forage fish that support wildlife populations. The USGS Alaska Science Center conducts interdisciplinary research to inform local, state, federal, and international policy makers regarding conservation of fish, aquatic species, and their habitats. We work collaboratively with hydrologists...
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Species Management Research Program, Alaska Science Center
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Fish and Aquatic Ecology

Fish and aquatic habitats in Alaska support important commercial, sport, and subsistence fisheries and provide forage fish that support wildlife populations. The USGS Alaska Science Center conducts interdisciplinary research to inform local, state, federal, and international policy makers regarding conservation of fish, aquatic species, and their habitats. We work collaboratively with hydrologists...
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Monitoring and Adaptive Management Process for Deepwater Horizon Natural Resource Damage and Assessment Plan

Natural Resource Damage and Assessment (NRDA) Program- DOI Monitoring and Adaptive Management Technical Assistance

WARC researchers are providing support to Louisiana Monitoring and Adaptive Management activities.
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center , Wetland and Aquatic Research Center
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Natural Resource Damage and Assessment (NRDA) Program- DOI Monitoring and Adaptive Management Technical Assistance

WARC researchers are providing support to Louisiana Monitoring and Adaptive Management activities.
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