Images

Miradiscops opal shell viewed with a scanning electron microscope.

Pupisoma dioscoricola shell viewed with a scanning electron microscope.

Radiodiscus millecostatus shell viewed with a scanning electron microscope.

Spiraxis sp. shell viewed with a scanning electron microscope with aperture facing up.

Katie Pugliares and Michael O'Neil with the New England Aquarium preparing a harbor seal carcass for necropsy.

Dead harbor seal found in New England in 2011.

A USGS herpetologist with a Sonora Mud Turtle (Kinosternon sonoriense; photo left) and Red-eared Slider (Trachemys scripta elegans;
photo right) at Montezuma Well, Montezuma Castle National Monument.

El Yunque Peak as seen across the Mameyes River valley. El Yunque National Forest, Puerto Rico.

A family of Florida panthers walking in the night.

Two Cladonia lichen species, C. stellaris and C. rangiferina are pictured here among some blueberry plants in Newfoundland.  Lichens -- which are often mistaken for moss -- are unusual plant-like organisms that are actually symbioses of fungi, algae and bacteria living together.

This lichen is Parmelia sulcata, a common species in North America.   Lichens -- which are often mistaken for moss -- are unusual plant-like organisms that are actually symbioses of fungi, algae and bacteria living together.

Weighted, small mesh nets (left and right side of the boat attached to winches) are lowered to the bottom of the river near potential spawning sites.  After a set period of time, the nets are raised and the contents are hand-picked for any Acipenseriformes (sturgeon and paddlefish) larvae.  Samples are preserved for laboratory identification and genetic an

Amy George uses a microscope and imaging software to measure larval Acipenseriformes collected in the Missouri River. 

Acoustic receivers detect and process the acoustic signal from the telemetry tags telling the tracking crew which direction to go to find the fish, and even which fish it is.

Acoustic telemetry tags have to be fairly small to fit inside a five to fifteen pound pallid sturgeon.  The average tag is about the size of your ring finger (60-90 mm long and 16 mm diameter).  That means the battery that powers the acoustic tag is small, too.  A small battery means that the signal from the tag is relatively weak, or fairly quiet.

Biologist Sabrina Davenport tandem tracks the Lower Missouri River during high water on June 2, 2011.  Two boats (note boat out window) tracking in tandem can detect fish effectively across a wider river and can turn to search behind wing dikes and sandbars where sturgeon can hide during higher flows. 

Acoustic receivers detect and process the acoustic signal from the telemetry tags telling the tracking crew which direction to go to find the fish, and even which fish it is.

A gator relaxes in the shade underneath our station’s dock.

A radio tracking boat cruises down a flooded Yellowstone River in search of telemetered pallid sturgeon. 

USGS and NPS personnel placed a GPS-transmitter on a California Condor at Pinnacles National Monument.  Photo was taken when the bird was released after attaching the transmitter.

Mara Tongue download data from phenocam located in Idaho. The phenocam takes a picture daily and that data is used to help track phenological changes (the timing and vigor of seasonal biological events). The data from the phenocam is used (with other data) to gain a better understanding of vegetation changes over the entire ecoregion.