Ecosystems Science at USGS
USGS Landscape Science Strategy
Science informing decision making on public lands and across all of our Nation’s landscapes.
Science informing decision making on public lands and across all of our Nation’s landscapes.
USGS Wildland Fire Science
USGS science helps understand the causes, consequences, and benefits of wildfire and helps prevent and manage larger, catastrophic events.
USGS science helps understand the causes, consequences, and benefits of wildfire and helps prevent and manage larger, catastrophic events.
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
Friday's Findings - October 11, 2024
Friday's Findings - October 11, 2024
EESC Scientist Leads Committee Tasked with Classifying North American Bird Species
EESC Scientist Leads Committee Tasked with Classifying North American Bird Species
To protect coastal communities from hurricanes, call the... coral reef veterinarian?
To protect coastal communities from hurricanes, call the... coral reef veterinarian?
Publications
A data exchange standard for wadeable stream habitat monitoring data
Data from wadeable streams collected by monitoring programs are used to assess watershed condition status and trends. Federally managed programs collect a suite of similar habitat measurements using compatible methods and produce individual program datasets for their prescribed geographic and temporal range. We identified four programs that produce similar data: the Bureau of Land Management Asses
Brodifacoum isomer formulations with potentially lower risk to non-target wildlife
Anticoagulant rodenticides (ARs) have a long history of successful use in controlling vertebrate pest and invasive species. Despite regulatory efforts to mitigate risk, non-target wildlife may be unintentionally exposed to ARs through various trophic pathways, and depending on dose, exposure can result in adverse effects and mortality. Second-generation ARs (SGARs) are mixtures of cis- and trans-d
Vegetation community recovery on restored bottomland hardwood forests in northeast Indiana, USA
Vegetation communities in restored bottomland hardwood forests in northeast Indiana were studied 6–21 years after restoration to assess progress toward restoration objectives. The study focused on four sites that were restored to compensate for resource injuries after contaminant releases. The restored sites were compared with four reference-site conditions, including crops (prerestoration conditi
Science
Building a Framework to Assess Restoration Outcomes for the Department of the Interior’s BIL Ecosystem Restoration Program
Championed by the BIL Ecosystem Restoration Program, the Department of the Interior's bureaus are working to build a framework to assess restoration outcomes, increase the return on ecological restoration investments, and support landscape-level resource management.
Newly-introduced fringe-toed lizard species found in Ventura County, California
A fringe-toed lizard ( Acanthodactylus cf. boskianus ) not native to California was discovered in Ventura County, California on October 14, 2023. This is the first documented occurrence of the species outside its home range (Kraus 2009; Kraus, pers. Comm.). While the source of its introduction is yet to be confirmed, it’s suspected that it has been introduced to Ventura County via the pet trade.
Developing a Process for Listing Injurious Wildlife Species
This project will develop a transparent process for prioritizing species for listing as injurious, likely to cause damage or harm, under the Lacey Act. Building upon previously developed "horizon scan" and "watchlist" products, this process will identify potentially invasive species that present the greatest risk to lands, waters, and other assets managed by the U.S. Department of the Interior.