Species Status Assessments

Land and wildlife managers require accurate estimates of sensitive species’ trends to help guide conservation decisions that maintain biodiversity and promote healthy ecosystems. Researchers within the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and Colorado State University (CSU) worked with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and State Wildlife Agencies to develop a hierarchical population monitoring...

We will examine evidence of heat stress in Yukon River Chinook salmon ( Oncorhynchus tshawytscha ) using heat shock proteins and gene expression.

Alaska's coastal and offshore waters provide foraging habitat for an estimated 100 million birds comprising more than 90 different species; from loons and seaducks that nest inland, to petrels and puffins that breed on islands off shore. All these birds depend on the sea to provide a wide variety of food types— from clams, crabs and urchins nearshore— to krill, forage fish, and squid offshore. The...

Forage fish are small pelagic schooling fish that play a key role in transferring energy between plankton and top marine predators. Many seabirds, marine mammals, and commercial fish species depend on forage fish to grow and survive.

Fish and aquatic habitats in Alaska support important commercial, sport, and subsistence fisheries and provide forage fish that support wildlife populations. The USGS Alaska Science Center conducts interdisciplinary research to inform local, state, federal, and international policy makers regarding conservation of fish, aquatic species, and their habitats. We work collaboratively with hydrologists...

Native freshwater mussels play a critical role in aquatic environments and are considered “ecosystem engineers” and indicators of water quality by constantly filtering water. Populations of native freshwater mussels have declined in recent years, and this decline has been attributed to factors such as habitat degradation, pollution, and invasive species, among others. The importance of these...

WARC researchers are investigating individual movement, growth, and population dynamics of alligator snapping turtles in a southwest Louisiana creek.

Nitrogen and phosphorus are plant essential nutrients that are currently in excess in many aquatic ecosystems due to runoff from urban and agricultural areas. In high amounts, these nutrients are detrimental to aquatic ecosystem health, because elevated nutrients promote excessive growth or “blooms” of algae and other nuisance species. Many species that cause blooms can produce toxins which are...

Conservation and Restoration of Native Freshwater Mussels Clean water is vital to public health, commerce, and recreation in the United States. Despite great efforts to reduce water pollution, many waters in the U.S. remain impaired. Having clean water not only supports considerable economic activity, but it also costs billions annually to maintain and provide. Freshwater mussels are avid filter...

The Challenge: Taxonomic nomenclature relies, in part, upon an accurate taxonomic history in order to establish the correct name for a taxon. Constantine S. Rafinesque (1783–1840), was a knowledgeable North American natural historian who was is responsible for describing and naming such iconic American mammals as the mule deer [Odocoileus hemionus (Rafinesque, 1817)] and the white-footed mouse...

The Challenge: It has been generally considered that a severe injury to a wild mammal that seemingly limits its ability to forage for food or escape predators will almost certainly lead to that individual’s demise. Inspection of skeletons of wild caught small mammals, however, has revealed a surprising number of individuals with healed fractures of the skeletal bones―including the primary...

The Challenge: Treeshrews (order Scandentia) are small-bodied mammals endemic to South and Southeast Asia. Since it was first described in 1820, the Common Treeshrew (Tupaia glis) has had a complex taxonomic history that has led to widely variable estimates of diversity, misidentification of populations, and general confusion regarding it and closely related species. One result is that T. glis has...