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Bats produce a variety of vocalizations that are used for navigation, feeding, and social communication. Most vocalizations are pitched well above the range of human hearing and are referred to as ultrasonic. These calls are often known as echolocation calls since bats use the echoes produced when a sound bounces off a bug or a building to determine what is in the area. 

Bats produce a variety of vocalizations that are used for navigation, feeding, and social communication. Most vocalizations are pitched well above the range of human hearing and are referred to as ultrasonic. These calls are often known as echolocation calls since bats use the echoes produced when a sound bounces off a bug or a building to determine what is in the area. 

Bats produce a variety of vocalizations that are used for navigation, feeding, and social communication. Most vocalizations are pitched well above the range of human hearing and are referred to as ultrasonic. These calls are often known as echolocation calls since bats use the echoes produced when a sound bounces off a bug or a building to determine what is in the area. 

Bats produce a variety of vocalizations that are used for navigation, feeding, and social communication. Most vocalizations are pitched well above the range of human hearing and are referred to as ultrasonic. These calls are often known as echolocation calls since bats use the echoes produced when a sound bounces off a bug or a building to determine what is in the area. 

This is the call of the elusive Ashy Storm-Petrel (Oceanodroma homochroa). Ashy Storm-Petrels nest in burrows and crevices on offshore rocks and islands. To avoid predators, they only arrive and depart their island nests under the cover of darkness. That makes studying them pretty difficult. But scientists have come up with a clever solution: they set up acoustic recorders

Amphibians’ permeable skin makes them incredibly sensitive to changes in their environment. Scientists and conservationists alike are using them as “sentinel species” that could provide early warnings of ecosystem change and stress affecting them and other organisms. Next time you are out, stop and listen. Do you hear them?
 

Amphibians’ permeable skin makes them incredibly sensitive to changes in their environment. Scientists and conservationists alike are using them as “sentinel species” that could provide early warnings of ecosystem change and stress affecting them and other organisms. Next time you are out, stop and listen. Do you hear them?
 

Amphibians’ permeable skin makes them incredibly sensitive to changes in their environment. Scientists and conservationists alike are using them as “sentinel species” that could provide early warnings of ecosystem change and stress affecting them and other organisms. Next time you are out, stop and listen. Do you hear them?
 

The sound of Hawaiian hoary bats hunting insects.

What do walrus sound like? Listen to audio clips of walrus bellowing as they are hauled out on the northwest coast of Alaska.

What do walrus sound like? Listen to audio clips of walrus bellowing as they are hauled out on the northwest coast of Alaska.

What do walrus sound like? Listen to audio clips of walrus bellowing as they are hauled out on the northwest coast of Alaska.
 

What do walrus sound like? Listen to audio clips of walrus bellowing as they are hauled out on the northwest coast of Alaska.

A worldwide earthquake drill, known as the Great ShakeOut, will be held on Thursday, October 17 at 10:17AM local time. The drill is your chance to practice how to protect yourself in the event of an earthquake. Mike Blanpied, the Associate Program Coordinator for the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program, and Mark Benthien, the Director of Communication, Education and Outreach

An interview with USGS scientist David Krabbenhoft about an article he co-authored in Science about global change's effects on mercury around the world.

An interview with USGS scientist emeritus Richie Williams about his career studying the Earth's cryosphere with remote sensing technology.

On April 30, 2013, USGS released an updated assessment of the Bakken Formation of North Dakota and Montana as part of the National Oil and Gas Assessment. We are joined by USGS Energy Resources Program Coordinator Brenda Pierce and Bakken Assessment Lead Stephanie Gaswirth to learn more about the assessment itself; why it was performed; and some context for the Bakken

Birds and insects at a pond at St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge (Florida) April 2013 at 6:00am

Severe weather season is upon us. Director of the USGS Nebraska Water Science Center, Robert Swanson, and National Weather Service Hydrologist David Pearson discuss tools to stay connected and the importance of having a safety plan in the event of severe weather.

February 2013 public lecture, presented by David Powars

Director of the USGS Nebraska Water Science Center, Robert Swanson, discusses how the drought of 2012 unfolded in Nebraska, the fallout, and what put this drought in a class with other major droughts during the past 100 years.

The next Great ShakeOut earthquake drill will be held on October 18, 2012. During the drill, participants will ‘drop, cover, and hold on’ to practice how to protect themselves during an earthquake.

To give us some details on ShakeOut, we are joined by two guests. First is Mike Blanpied, who is the Associate Program Coordinator for the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program

When bats detect an insect from returned echolocation calls they rapidly increase the pulse rate and raise the frequency of calls in order to gather more information on the insect including location. These calls emitted right before a bat closes in on an insect are called terminal phase calls or "feeding buzzes". The frequency is well above human hearing capabilities at 65