Images

In this photo, Paul Hershberger is conducting research in the Seattle Western Fisheries Research Center wet laboratory. He is working to study diseases in fish.

The great blue heron (Ardea herodias) is a large, wading bird known for its striking blue-gray plumage, long legs, and graceful demeanor, commonly found near water bodies across North America. This one was photographed in Ocean City, MD. 

A Baltimore Oriole sits in a tree.

A small group of Pacific walruses consider entering the water as they assess their surroundings.  A calf can be seen in the back of the group.  USGS and the U.S.

Ducklings born in the Sea Duck colony at the Eastern Ecological Science Center in Laurel, MD, are housed in a separate building. The ducklings receive round-the-clock care. 

Black Oystercatcher (Haematopus bachmani) nests in the northern Gulf of Alaska are monitored annually to determine the nest status, productivity, chick diet, and egg float stages.

The Sea Duck colony at the Eastern Ecological Science Center in Laurel, MD, is the only facility of its kind in the United States. Pictured are White-winged Scoters on the edge of their pond. 

The Sea Duck colony at the Eastern Ecological Science Center in Laurel, MD, is the only facility of its kind in the United States. Pictured are two male and one female Common Eiders floating in their pond. 

A female Ruby-throated Hummingbird buzzing among the bee balm stops to get some nectar. Shot in front of the Gabrielson Building at the Eastern Ecological Science Center in Laurel, MD. 

Brian Richardson is the Assistant Center Director for the Eastern Ecological Science Center

Effluent from soybean processing facility following treatment, entering nearby surface water body. Photo taken by USGS, Sandra Leal.

Scientists get ready to collect samples from a bat to test for Pseudogymnoascus destructans, the fungus that causes white-nose syndrome.

Scientists look for damage on the skin of a bat's wing as an indicator of white-nose syndrome infection. This bat has no wing damage.

Angler who was fishing in a western Montana river holding a brown trout they caught 

Two anglers enjoying the World class fishing that western Montana rivers has to offer. 

The Yuma myotis bat, Myotis yumanensis, has a body length of only 1.5-1.9 inches and they weigh less than half an ounce.

Scars on the skin of this bat's wing suggest white-nose syndrome infection over the previous winter.

Individual bats are tested for Pseudogymnoascus destructans, the fungus that causes white-nose syndrome, by wiping a sterile swab across the skin of a bat's outstretched wing and muzzle.

Yuma myotis has a wide range throughout western North America, from the Southwestern regions of Canada into Mexico. 

Two scientists work to identify change in the density and size distribution of mussels (Mytilus trossulus) in mussel beds. Long-term data collected are used as an indicator of mussel prey availability for various predators, including Sea Otters, Black Oystercatchers, sea ducks and sea stars.

A temperature logger (HOBO) affixed to a rocky outcrop in western Prince Wiliam Sound. Long-term change in intertidal invertebrate and algal communities is assessed by using temperature loggers.