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The USGS Ecosystems Mission Area

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Ecosystems Science at USGS

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USGS Landscape Science Strategy

Science informing decision making on public lands and across all of our Nation’s landscapes.

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USGS Wildland Fire Science

USGS science helps understand the causes, consequences, and benefits of wildfire and helps prevent and manage larger, catastrophic events.

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DISCOVRE

Diversity, Systematics and Connectivity of Vulnerable Reef Ecosystems

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Ecosystems Mission Area

The USGS Ecosystems Mission Area provides science to help America achieve sustainable management and conservation of biological resources in wild and urban spaces, and places in between.

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Newsletter - EcoNews

Native westslope cutthroat trout swim in the north fork of the Flathead River in northwestern Montana.

This quarterly newsletter highlights ecosystems science and activities coming out of our Science Centers and Cooperative Research Units across the Nation. 

EcoNews Issues

Webinar - Friday's Findings

Colorado Aspen with mountains in the background

A public webinar series meant to offer our audience an opportunity to discover the Ecosystems science capacity within the USGS.

Upcoming Webinars

Where's our Science?

Ecosystems Mission Area Locations

Find out where Ecosystems Science Centers, Field Stations, Climate Adaptation Science Centers, and Cooperative Research Units are located.

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News

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Friday's Findings - June 9 2023

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The 2023 Atlantic Hurricane Season is here

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In a changing ecosystem, Yellowstone grizzly bears are resilient

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Publications

Captive breeding, husbandry, release, and translocation of sciurids

Captive breeding and release programs have been instrumental in preventing the extinction of some wildlife species, but these programs have been less successful for other species. Evaluating initial guidelines for procedures to start a captive breeding and release program for a particular species is an important first step in the process of initiating such a program. The Mohave ground squirrel (Xe
Authors
Sharon A Poessel
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

Multi-scale relationships in thermal limits within and between two cold-water frog species uncover different trends in physiological vulnerability

1. Critical thermal limits represent an important component of an organism's capacity to cope with future temperature changes. Understanding the drivers of variation in these traits may uncover patterns in physiological vulnerability to climate change. Local temperature extremes have emerged as a major driver of thermal limits, although their effects can be mediated by the exploitation of fine-sca
Authors
Amanda S. Cicchino, Alisha A. Shah, Brenna R. Forester, Jason Dunham, Cameron K. Ghalambor, W. Chris Funk
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023—USGS disaster emergency recovery activities

Title VII of Division N in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 (Public Law 117–328), was enacted on December 29, 2022. The U.S. Geological Survey received $41.04 million in disaster emergency supplemental funding for repairing and replacing facilities and equipment, collecting high-resolution elevation data in affected areas, and completing scientific assessments to support direct recovery a
Authors
Jo Ellen Hinck, Joseph Stachyra
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Columbia Environmental Research Center
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Science

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Walruses resting on an ice floe

Walrus Research

The USGS Alaska Science Center conducts long-term research on the Pacific walrus to provide scientific information to Department of Interior management agencies and Alaska Native co-management partners. In addition, the USGS Pacific walrus research program collaborates with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the State of Alaska’s Department of Fish and Game and Alaska Native co...
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Land Management Research Program, Species Management Research Program, Alaska Science Center
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Walrus Research

The USGS Alaska Science Center conducts long-term research on the Pacific walrus to provide scientific information to Department of Interior management agencies and Alaska Native co-management partners. In addition, the USGS Pacific walrus research program collaborates with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the State of Alaska’s Department of Fish and Game and Alaska Native co...
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Gulf Sturgeon

Sturgeon Occurrence and Behavior in the Outer Continental Shelf

A new study aims to collect information on sturgeon temporal and spatial distribution to inform offshore wind energy and sand leasing operations.
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Land Management Research Program, Species Management Research Program, Eastern Ecological Science Center, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center
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Sturgeon Occurrence and Behavior in the Outer Continental Shelf

A new study aims to collect information on sturgeon temporal and spatial distribution to inform offshore wind energy and sand leasing operations.
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Black-footed ferret on the prowl

USGS Science Supporting 50 Years of the Endangered Species Act

This Endangered Species Day, we’re celebrating the USGS science that helps achieve sustainable management and conservation of some of the Nation’s most endangered flora and fauna.
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Biological Threats and Invasive Species Research Program, Species Management Research Program, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center, Western Ecological Research Center (WERC)
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USGS Science Supporting 50 Years of the Endangered Species Act

This Endangered Species Day, we’re celebrating the USGS science that helps achieve sustainable management and conservation of some of the Nation’s most endangered flora and fauna.
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