Images

This remote area along the southern Idaho-Oregon border was affected by the 2015 Soda Fire, which burned nearly 400 square miles of sagebrush habitat important to many species of wildlife, as well as federal and private ranchlands.

The desmid family of single-celled green algae are never found in abundance, says USGS biologist Barry Rosen. They inhabit the soft, slightly acidic water of wetlands that depend on rainwater, like Florida’s Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge. They don’t “bloom” en masse, but their presence is an indicator of good water quality.

Wastewater from oil production in the Williston Basin leaked from a pipeline, spilling into Blacktail Creek, North Dakota. Geochemical and biological samples were to identify geochemical signatures of spilled wastewaters as well as biological responses. 

USGS conducts a health assessment on a mantee in Crystal River, Florida. 

USGS conducts a health assessment on a mantee in Crystal River, Florida.

USGS conducts a health assessment on a mantee in Crystal River, Florida.

USGS conducts a health assessment on a mantee in Crystal River, Florida.

A Chinese firebelly newt (Cynops orientalis), the first salamander species found to be infected with the spring viraemia of carp virus.

South Carolina alligators occupy a patchwork of diverse habitats, including rivers, lakes, wooded swamps, tidal marshes, and impounded freshwater wetlands. As a mobile, opportunistic predator, alligators seasonally adjust their habitat use for feeding.

This auger is used to collect 1 meter deep soil cores for a carbon budget study associated with the SageSTEP project. SageSTEP is a long-term, multi-disciplinary experiment evaluating sagebrush restoration methods in the Great Basin.

Turbid glacial runoff in roaring river, surrounded by mountains in Lake Clark National Park, Alaska.

Eastern tiger salamanders are on the move! This one was spotted crossing the road at St. Croix Wetland Management District in Wisconsin. Tiger salamanders mostly eat small insects and worms.

Photo by Caitlin Smith/USFWS.

Frosted flatwoods salamander in St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge, Florida

Native and invasive plants in desert southwest.  

Water sampling on the pontoon of a seaplane in Lake Clark National Park, Alaska.

Photomontage of multiple pictures showing environmental changes including within wildlife and urban environments

A Chinese firebelly newt (Cynops orientalis), the salamander species recently found to be infected with the spring viraemia of carp virus, or SVCV.

Dissected guano pellet showing antennae, eyes, and body fragments of midges. 

USGS and other scientists have studied in-depth alligator populations in Florida and Louisiana, but basic ecological knowledge is lacking for populations at the northern edge of their range.

A Louisiana black bear and her cubs up in a tree. USGS science on population demographics, population viability, and relocation efforts were used to inform the 2016 USFWS decision to remove the species from the Endangered Species List due to recovery. 

Picture of boys fishing off rocks in the middle of a river with a beautiful background