Images

Top of Radiodiscus sp. viewed with scanning electron microscope.

Gastrocopta germindens shell viewed with a scanning electron microscope.

Gastrocopta gularis shell viewed with a scanning electron microscope.

Ventral view of Guppya gundlachi shell observed with a scanning electron microscope.

Hawaiia minuscula shell observed with a scanning electron microscope with aperture facing down.

Hawaiia minuscula shell viewed with a scanning electron microscope with aperture facing up.

Striatura meridionalis shell viewed with a scanning electron microscope with aperture facing up.

Thysanophora caecoides shell viewed with a scanning electron microscope.

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

The Colorado Plateau lies in the Four Corners region of the southwestern United States: western Colorado, northwestern New Mexico, southeastern and eastern Utah, and northern Arizona. Most of the area is drained by the Colorado River and its main tributaries.

A desert tortoise walks in the Mojave Desert.

John Klavitter of the US Fish and Wildlife Service, left, and USGS biologist Michelle Reynolds attach transmitters to critically endangered Laysan teal that were translocated from Laysan to Midway Island to expand the species' population and range. 

The Black Noddy (with a chick) is one of eight seabird species whose population density was studied on the French Frigate Shoals' Tern Island by biologists with the USGS Pacific Island Ecosystems Research Center's Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Climate Change Project. 

The White Tern is one of eight seabird species whose population density and susceptibility to sea-level rise was studied on the French Frigate Shoals' Tern Island by biologists with the USGS Pacific Island Ecosystems Research Center's Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Climate Change Project. 

Florida panther rests in it's Southwest Florida habitat.

Florida panther; Puma concolor coryi, remains one of the most endangered mammals in the world.

Demonstration wetland at Henderson, Nevada, where vegetated hummocks were built into the wastewater treatment wetland to improve its effectiveness and sustainability, as well as provide quality wildlife habitat.

Wood frog embryos in a partly ice-covered Wisconsin wetland. Interconnected wetlands and uplands are critical elements of most North American landscapes and support our quality of life in profound ways. To provide much-needed information, the USGS is leading a growing network of U.S.

This lichen, Lobaria pulmonaria, is found in northern North America, where it is becoming rare in places.  Lichens -- which are often mistaken for moss -- are unusual plant-like organisms that are actually symbioses of fungi, algae and bacteria living together.

Research vessel Theodore R. Schmudde anchors in the swift water before lowering the sand cam (metal object suspended to the pulleys at the front of the boat).

Equipped with a multibeam bathymetric system and acoustic Doppler current profiler, the research vessel Lucien Brush was deployed to make comprehensive maps of the potential spawning area.  In order to collect precise location data, a base station is set-up within view of the area to be mapped.  Luckily, a sandbar was still peaking above the river’s surfac