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Biosecurity

We protect people, plants, and animals from infectious diseases

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Biosurveillance

Our early detection & rapid response are improving biological threat detection

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Fish and Wildlife Disease

We are the lead Federal agency for wildlife disease research and surveillance

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Invasive Species

We help solve problems posed by invasive species across the country

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Biological Threats and Invasive Species Research Program

The Biological Threats Research Program delivers science to protect public safety, property, and ecosystems from invasive plants and animals and infectious fish and wildlife diseases that pose significant ecologic and economic threats to the resources of the United States.

Links to Cool USGS Web Tools

Explore powerful tools that provide immediate access to data and information on aquatic invasive species, wildlife diseases, and invasive plants.

Animal Welfare Assurance

Lesser Scaup
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News

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USGS EcoNews - Vol. 4 | Issue 2

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New study describes HPAI infections in wild mammals in US

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A Silver Lining for Invasive Species

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Publications

Evaluating management alternatives for Wyoming elk feedgrounds in consideration of chronic wasting disease

Executive SummaryThe authors used decision and modeling analyses to evaluate management alternatives for a decision on whether to permit Cervus canadensis (elk) feeding on two sites on Bridger-Teton National Forest, Dell Creek and Forest Park. Supplemental feeding of elk could increase the transmission of chronic wasting disease (CWD) locally and disease spread regionally, potentially impacting el
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Jonathan D. Cook, Paul C. Cross, Emily M. Tomaszewski, Eric K. Cole, Evan H. Campbell Grant, James M. Wilder, Michael C. Runge
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Biological Threats and Invasive Species Research Program, Species Management Research Program, Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center

The effects of cheatgrass invasion on US Great Basin carbon storage depend on interactions between plant community composition, precipitation seasonality, and soil climate regime

Annual-grass invasions are transforming desert ecosystems in ways that affect ecosystem carbon (C) balance, but previous studies do not agree on the pattern, magnitude and direction of changes. A recent meta-analysis of 41 articles and 386 sites concludes that invasion by annual grasses such as cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum L) reduces C in biomass across the Great Basin (Nagy et al., 2021). Reanalys
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Toby M Maxwell, Matthew J. Germino
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Biological Threats and Invasive Species Research Program, Land Management Research Program, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

Social effects of rabies infection in male vampire bats (Desmodus rotundus)

Rabies virus (RABV) transmitted by the common vampire bat (Desmodus rotundus) poses a threat to agricultural development and public health throughout the Neotropics. The ecology and evolution of rabies host-pathogen dynamics are influenced by two infection-induced behavioral changes. RABV-infected hosts often exhibit increased aggression which facilitates transmission, and rabies also leads to red
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Elsa M. Cárdenas-Canales, Sebastian Stockmaier, Eleanor Cronin, Tonie E. Rocke, Jorge E. Osorio, Gerald G. Carter
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Biological Threats and Invasive Species Research Program, Species Management Research Program, National Wildlife Health Center
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Science

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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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Arctic Terns in Cook Inlet, flying over bullwhip kelp on the surface of the water, Alaska

Harmful Algal Bloom Toxins in Alaska Seabirds

Elevated ocean temperatures are linked to the development of harmful algal blooms (HABs). Toxins from these blooms may pose health threats to marine organisms, including seabirds. Since 2015, the USGS has worked with a variety of stakeholders to develop testing methods and research projects to better understand the geographic extent, timing and impacts of algal toxins in Alaska marine ecosystems...
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Biological Threats and Invasive Species Research Program, Alaska Science Center
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Harmful Algal Bloom Toxins in Alaska Seabirds

Elevated ocean temperatures are linked to the development of harmful algal blooms (HABs). Toxins from these blooms may pose health threats to marine organisms, including seabirds. Since 2015, the USGS has worked with a variety of stakeholders to develop testing methods and research projects to better understand the geographic extent, timing and impacts of algal toxins in Alaska marine ecosystems...
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Northern Pintail pair on water, Copper River Delta, Alaska

Avian Influenza Research

Since 2006, the USGS Alaska Science Center has been part of the State and Federal interagency team for the detection and response to highly pathogenic (HPAI) viruses in North America. Avian influenza or "bird flu" is a viral disease that primarily infects domestic poultry and wild birds. Avian influenza viruses are naturally occurring in wild birds such as ducks, geese, swans, and gulls. These...
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Ecosystems Mission Area, Biological Threats and Invasive Species Research Program, Species Management Research Program, Alaska Science Center
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Avian Influenza Research

Since 2006, the USGS Alaska Science Center has been part of the State and Federal interagency team for the detection and response to highly pathogenic (HPAI) viruses in North America. Avian influenza or "bird flu" is a viral disease that primarily infects domestic poultry and wild birds. Avian influenza viruses are naturally occurring in wild birds such as ducks, geese, swans, and gulls. These...
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