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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.

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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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USGS Science at The Waterbird Society and Atlantic Marine Bird Cooperative Meeting 2023

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Friday's Findings - October 13 2023

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USGS Announces New Leaders for Five Regional Climate Adaptation Science Centers

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Publications

Monitoring nesting waterbirds for the South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project—2022 breeding season

The San Francisco Bay supports thousands of breeding waterbirds annually and hosts large populations of American avocets (Recurvirostra americana), black-necked stilts (Himantopus mexicanus), and Forster’s terns (Sterna forsteri). These three species have relied largely on former commercial salt ponds in South San Francisco Bay, which provide wetland foraging habitat and island nesting habitat. Th
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Joshua T. Ackerman, C. Alex Hartman, Mark P. Herzog
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)

Annotated bibliography of scientific research on Gunnison sage-grouse published from January 2005 to September 2022

Integrating recent scientific knowledge into management decisions supports effective natural resource management and can lead to better resource outcomes. However, finding and accessing scientific knowledge can be time consuming and costly. To assist in this process, the U.S. Geological Survey is creating a series of annotated bibliographies on topics of management concern for western lands. Previ
Authors
Logan M. Maxwell, Elisabeth C. Teige, Samuel E. Jordan, Tait K. Rutherford, Ella M. Samuel, Lea B. Selby, Alison C. Foster, Nathan J. Kleist, Sarah K. Carter
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Fort Collins Science Center

Temporal, environmental, and demographic correlates of Ichthyophonus sp. infections in mature Pacific herring populations

Causes of population collapse and failed recovery often remain enigmatic in marine forage fish like Pacific herring (Clupea pallasii) that experience dramatic population oscillations. Diseases such as ichthyophoniasis are hypothesized to contribute to these declines, but lack of long-term datasets frequently prevents inference. Analysis of pathogen surveillance and population assessment datasets s
Authors
Maya Groner, Eliana D. Bravo-Mendosa, Ashley MacKenzie, Jacob L. Gregg, Carla M. Conway, John T. Trochta, Paul Hershberger
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Western Fisheries Research Center
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Science

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Scientist using a gene sequencer and an infographic of the process

Invasive Phragmites Science: Using Cutting-Edge Genetic Approaches to Develop New Management Tools for the Control of Invasive Phragmites.

Invasive plants negatively impact our water, wildlife, and way of life. Current management tools are not cutting it, so a multi-agency research team is using molecular biotechnology to develop new species-specific treatments that help land managers improve the natural resources that we depend on and have more management options during droughts, floods, and other periods of plant stress. This...
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Biological Threats and Invasive Species Research Program, Great Lakes Science Center, Great Lakes Restoration Initiative
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Invasive Phragmites Science: Using Cutting-Edge Genetic Approaches to Develop New Management Tools for the Control of Invasive Phragmites.

Invasive plants negatively impact our water, wildlife, and way of life. Current management tools are not cutting it, so a multi-agency research team is using molecular biotechnology to develop new species-specific treatments that help land managers improve the natural resources that we depend on and have more management options during droughts, floods, and other periods of plant stress. This...
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Image Collage of Landsat, pollinator, and volcanologist

Diseases of Fish and Wildlife

The coronavirus pandemic, Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in white-tailed deer, and white-nose syndrome in bats have spawned great interest in diseases of native fish and wildlife. Many aspects of widely known diseases of wild (as opposed to domestic) animal populations are poorly understood, including their ecology, incidence, distribution, and methods for reducing effects of disease on culturally...
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Core Science Systems Mission Area, Ecosystems Mission Area, Energy and Minerals Mission Area, Water Resources Mission Area, Biological Threats and Invasive Species Research Program, Cooperative Research Units
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Diseases of Fish and Wildlife

The coronavirus pandemic, Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in white-tailed deer, and white-nose syndrome in bats have spawned great interest in diseases of native fish and wildlife. Many aspects of widely known diseases of wild (as opposed to domestic) animal populations are poorly understood, including their ecology, incidence, distribution, and methods for reducing effects of disease on culturally...
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A meadow of green grass and shrubs and yellow, orange, and purple wildflowers bordered by pine trees

Using Vegetation Trends and Fire Risk Simulations to Prioritize Management Interventions on National Park Service Lands in Southern Idaho

City of Rocks National Reserve and Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve are lands managed by the National Park Service that contain ecologically valuable stands of sagebrush and unique forest communities that are at risk due to wildfire and invasion by exotic annual grasses. We are working to determine the extent of invasion and to provide park managers with wildfire risk assessments...
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Land Management Research Program, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Wildland Fire Science
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Using Vegetation Trends and Fire Risk Simulations to Prioritize Management Interventions on National Park Service Lands in Southern Idaho

City of Rocks National Reserve and Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve are lands managed by the National Park Service that contain ecologically valuable stands of sagebrush and unique forest communities that are at risk due to wildfire and invasion by exotic annual grasses. We are working to determine the extent of invasion and to provide park managers with wildfire risk assessments...
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