Images

An autonomous sampler (white box) is visible alongside a stream site in Montana  

The USGS RAMPS program partnered with Saguaro National Park and the NPS Sonoran Desert Network Inventory and Monitoring Program to share knowledge about techniques for improving pollinator habitat at the NPS Desert Research and Learning Center in Tucson, AZ.

Ongoing camera monitoring efforts in Southern Arizona to monitor wildlife for the goal of detecting endangered jaguars and ocelots have covered 20 mountain ranges, off and on, from 2012 to 2019.

Mangrove forest on the island of Pohnpei, Micronesia, dominated by Bruguiera gymnorrhiza (locally called sohmw). 

The USGS and partners are studying how mangrove forests in the Federated States of Micronesia may respond to sea-level rise over the coming century. Their projections will help Micronesian communities plan for the future.

A native bee collects purple pollen from a sego lily in Castle Cliffs National Monument, NV.

Spring wildflowers captured on California's Channel Islands.

The USGS Western Ecological Research Center's Dr. Kathryn McEachern studies plant ecology and restoration on the Channel Islands. Learn more here.

Biological Technician Laura (Laney) White adjusts camera settings during a survey.

The Seabird Studies Team at the USGS Western Ecological Research Center is conducting aerial photographic surveys of the ocean off central and southern California to create comprehensive maps of seabird and marine mammal distributions.

Pilot Barry expertly flies the plane at the correct survey speed and altitude to obtain crisp, clear images.

The Seabird Studies Team at the USGS Western Ecological Research Center is conducting aerial photographic surveys of the ocean off central and southern California to create comprehensive maps of seabird and marine mammal distributions.

View of the ocean off the central California coast at the start of a flight.

The Seabird Studies Team at the USGS Western Ecological Research Center is conducting aerial photographic surveys of the ocean off central and southern California to create comprehensive maps of seabird and marine mammal distributions.

Passing Morro Bay during an aerial photographic survey.

The Seabird Studies Team at the USGS Western Ecological Research Center is conducting aerial photographic surveys of the ocean off central and southern California to create comprehensive maps of seabird and marine mammal distributions.

Low clouds over land, but clears skies over the ocean during a test flight in March 2019.

The Seabird Studies Team at the USGS Western Ecological Research Center is conducting aerial photographic surveys of the ocean off central and southern California to create comprehensive maps of seabird and marine mammal distributions.

Photograph of museum specimens of the Rusty Patched Bumble Bee, Bombus affinis

Camera set-up in the plane before belly port doors are opened for an aerial photographic survey.

The Seabird Studies Team at the USGS Western Ecological Research Center is conducting aerial photographic surveys of the ocean off central and southern California to create comprehensive maps of seabird and marine mammal distributions.

Scientists collect carcasses at a wind energy facility to estimate total wildlife mortality at a site.

Mount with black-out curtain used to hold a wireless monitor. This set-up allows technicians to interface with four mini-PCs in real time, allowing them to check data and image quality, and make adjustments when necessary.

Blended photo of a wind and solar energy facilities.

Preparing the Partenavia aircraft to leave Oxnard Airport for a survey.

The Seabird Studies Team at the USGS Western Ecological Research Center is conducting aerial photographic surveys of the ocean off central and southern California to create comprehensive maps of seabird and marine mammal distributions.

 USGS field biologist Andrea Mott displays a recently marked Lesser Snow Goose.

Biological Technician Laura (Laney) White and Research Biologist, Josh Adams install a newly modified camera mount for in flight testing. This mount tilts forward and back to minimize glare and improve image quality.

Two young golden eagles fight in the snow. In the winter, eagles tend to scavenge for food as prey become scarce.

A Basic II bald eagle on the left fights with a golden eagle. A Basic IV bald eagle flies away.