Wildlife and Terrestrial Species

Polar bears ( Ursus maritimus) are one of 4 marine mammal species managed by the U.S. Department of Interior. The USGS Alaska Science Center leads long–term research on polar bears to inform local, state, national and international policy makers regarding conservation of the species and its habitat. Our studies, ongoing since 1985, are focused on population dynamics, health and energetics...

Understanding the population dynamics, predator/prey relationships and habitat ecology of terrestrial mammals, such as caribou and muskoxen, is critical for the management of these species and their habitats in Alaska.

Welcome to the Alaska Landbird Resource Information System, the official web page for Boreal Partners in Flight! Thanks for taking the time to learn more about the Boreal Partners in Flight program and our efforts to understand and conserve northern populations of landbirds.

On this page, learn about USGS work with the Alaska Landbird Monitoring Survey (ALMS), Beak Deformities in Landbirds, and Boreal Partners in Flight (BPIF).

With its vast size and geographic position at the northern end of several migration pathways, Alaska is a critically important site for the world’s shorebirds. Thirty-seven shorebird species regularly breed in Alaska. Most of these species conduct epically long migrations to take advantage of Alaska’s abundant food resources and breeding habitat, making Alaska a global resource for shorebirds...

Nearshore ecosystems include many resources that are of high ecological, recreational, subsistence, and economic value. They also are subject to influences from a wide variety of natural and human-caused perturbations, which can originate in terrestrial or oceanic environments. Our research is designed to evaluate sources of variation in the nearshore and how they influence resources of high...

Wild horses and burros are iconic wildlife of the western USA as well as a complicated management issue on tribal, state, and federal lands. Due to their history as domesticated animals, these wild equids – also called “free-roaming” or “feral” equids – can reproduce quickly, and have few natural predators, allowing their populations to grow rapidly if not managed. When populations are too large...

The Greater Sage-grouse Population Monitoring Framework fills a prominent information gap to help inform current assessments of sage-grouse population trends at nested spatial and temporal scales. It is centered on four objectives: (1) create a standardized database of lek counts; (2) develop biologically based spatial population structures by clustering leks; (3) estimate spatial trends at...

Long-term wildlife monitoring is imperative for understanding population changes that can inform managers. However, working with population data collected by different organizations across multiple jurisdictions and over long time periods can be challenging due to varying data management approaches and organizational priorities. Through this project, we aimed to collaborate with eleven state...

Greater sage-grouse ( Centrocercus urophasianus) are at the center of state and national land use policies largely because of their unique life-history traits and their role as an ecological indicator for the health of sagebrush ecosystems. Multiple science centers with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in conjunction with Colorado State University (CSU) have developed the Greater Sage-Grouse...

Researchers at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and Colorado State University (CSU) collaborated with the Bureau of Land Management and state wildlife agencies to develop a hierarchical population monitoring framework for managing greater sage-grouse ( Centrocercus urophasianus) populations and the sagebrush ecosystems they depend on for survival and reproduction. This greater sage-grouse...

Land and wildlife managers require accurate estimates of sensitive species’ trends to help guide conservation decisions that maintain biodiversity and promote healthy ecosystems. Multiple science centers with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in conjunction with Colorado State University (CSU), developed a hierarchical population monitoring framework for managing greater sage-grouse (...