Images

Specimens from a USGS Lepidoptera Research Collection stored at the Kansas WSC Organic Geochemistry Reseearch Laboratory. Specimens are received as part of a Citizen Science effort to establish a collection to further insect research. 

USGS researchers acquire imagery from unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) synchronous with high-resolution imagery from satellites to map sagebrush across North Dakota and South Dakota. 

Smallmouth Bass are good indicators of methylmercury exposure to humans and wildlife because they are a common, popular sport fish and eat a variety of food during their lifetime. Juvenile Smallmouth Bass – smaller than 150mm in length - eat zooplankton, or microscopic animals.

Drawing showing climate change impacts to each life cycle stage of monarchs: 1) Butterflies lay fewer eggs in wetter conditions, 2) Warmer temperatures reduce milkweed growth, leaving caterpillars hungry, 3) Erratic winters freeze overwintering pupae, 4) Shifting seasons disrupt migrations.

Image of pipettors used in the laboratory. Pipettes are stored on charging docking stations. 

Scientists survey prairie potholes in Wells County, North Dakota. 

The Prairie Pothole Region extends across the central United States and Canada, providing wetland and grassland habitat to thousands of species, including critical breeding habitat for migratory waterbirds. 

Screenshot of the USGS Wildfire Hazard and Risk Assessment Clearinghouse. The clearinghouse provides a description and information about the spatial extent, resolution, fire modeling approach, values considered (assets and resources), and vintage of LANDFIRE and fire dat

Eared grebes in a courtship behavior in the Great Salt Lake. They are one of many migratory birds in the Great Basin that rely on terminal lakes and wetlands in the area to stop rest and feed. 

Northern Arizona University graduate students monitor seedling emergence in a northern Arizona RestoreNet site. Photo by Laura Shriver.

Image shows equipment for analysis of targeted and non-targeted organic contaminants at the OGRL located at the KS WSC. 

Northern Arizona University graduate student Ri Corwin collects soil for greenhouse inoculation experiments. Photo by Laura Shriver.

Kaupapaloʻi o Kaʻamola

Fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas), pond mussel (Ligumia subrostrata), and passive samplers in an exposure tank housed inside of a mobile laboratory at the legacy fire-training area contaminated by PFAS derived from aqueous film-forming foams on Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

Mail in deceased butterflies, moths, and skippers and help United States Geological Survey(USGS) scientists establish a Lepidoptera Research Collection (LRC). Specimens will help USGS scientists identify contaminants and environmental factors which may be contributing to the decline of insect populations.

This is the instrument laboratory of the Organic Geochemistry Research Laboratory located in the KS WSC.

Photograph of Summer Lake Wildlife Area, an important stopping spot for migratory birds on their spring and fall migration flights. 

Close up of Sonoran Desert flowers, including California poppy, lupines, and purple owl's clover. Photo by Laura Shriver.

Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center scientist examining a snow sample while standing in a snow pit to better understand snowpack characteristics that lead to avalanches. 

Biologists from RAMPS and McDowell Sonoran Preserve monitor a RestoreNet restoration site in the Sonoran Desert. Photo by Laura Shriver.

Sphaeralcea ambigua, a native plant seeded during RestoreNet experiments, thriving at the Lake Pleasant RestoreNet site in the Sonoran Desert. Photo by Laura Shriver.

The RestoreNet plot at McDowell Sonoran Preserve was surrounded by blooming native wildflowers, including purple owl's clover (Castillejia exserta). Photo by Laura Shriver.