News
National News Releases
Browse through a comprehensive list of all national USGS news items.
Flexibility in Behavior of Some Animals Helps Them Accommodate a Changing Climate
A new study by the U.S. Geological Survey and its partners has identified situations and conditions where some animals display behavioral flexibility – the ability to rapidly change behavior in response to short – or long-term environmental changes such as climate variability.
USGS: Louisiana’s Rate of Coastal Wetland Loss Continues to Slow
Lack of Major Hurricanes Since 2008 Is Likely the Main Reason
Hot new imagery of wintering bats suggests a group behavior for battling white-nose syndrome
Hot new imagery from temperature-sensing cameras suggests that bats who warm up from hibernation together throughout the winter may be better at surviving white nose syndrome, a disease caused by a cold-loving fungus ravaging insect-eating bat populations in the United States and Canada.
Finding Yourself Outdoors
Updated USGS digital topographic maps feature more trails and other recreation points of interest
More Milkweeds Located Throughout the Landscape Can Help Conserve Monarchs
Adding milkweeds and other native flowering plants into midwestern agricultural lands is key to restoring monarch butterflies, with milkweed sowers from all sectors of society being critically needed for success.
Reptile Skin Grown in Lab for First Time, Helps Study Endangered Turtle Disease
Scientists recently reconstructed the skin of endangered green turtles, marking the first time that skin of a non-mammal was successfully engineered in a laboratory, according to a recently published U.S. Geological Survey study. In turn, the scientists were able to grow a tumor-associated virus to better understand certain tumor diseases.
Lake Harvests are Likely More Fruitful than We Knew
Harvests from freshwater fisheries such as the Great Lakes could total more than 12 million tons a year globally and contribute more to global food supplies and economies than previous estimates indicate, according to a study published today by Michigan State University and the U.S. Geological Survey.
Oral Plague Vaccine Helps Reduce Outbreaks in Prairie Dog Colonies
Prairie dogs in the wild are less likely to succumb to plague after they ingest peanut-butter-flavored bait that contains a vaccine against the disease, according to a U.S. Geological Survey study published today in the journal EcoHealth.
NOAA, USGS and partners predict third largest Gulf of Mexico summer ‘dead zone’ ever
Larger-than-average low and no oxygen area may affect the region’s shrimp fisheries
Snake Fungal Disease Identified in Wild British Snakes for First Time
Europe’s wild snakes could face a growing threat from a fungal skin disease that has contributed to wild snake deaths in North America, according to an international collaborative study, led by conservation charity Zoological Society of London alongside partners including the U.S. Geological Survey. The new study is published in the journal Scientific Reports.
NOAA, USGS and partners predict larger summer ‘dead zone’ for the Chesapeake Bay
Low- and no-oxygen area threatens crabs, oysters, fish
Scientists Discover New Species of Fijian Iguana
Researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey, Taronga Conservation Society Australia, The National Trust of Fiji and NatureFiji-MareqetiViti have discovered a new species of banded iguana.