Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Powering Progress

How Science Can Fuel the Energy Resources Life Cycle

Learn more

USGS Wildland Fire Science

USGS science helps understand the causes, consequences, and benefits of wildfire and helps prevent and manage larger, catastrophic events.

Find out how

USGS Drought Science

Helping managers understand the interactions that determine the magnitude and impact of drought on water availability and ecosystems across the Nation

Learn More

Ecosystems Science at USGS

Watch Video

The USGS Ecosystems Mission Area

Learn more about us through a visual geonarrative

Our Story

EcoNews

A USGS Ecosystems Mission Area Newsletter

EcoNews Issues

Friday's Findings

A Public Webinar Series

Upcoming Webinars

Ecosystems Mission Area

The USGS Ecosystems Mission Area provides science that directly benefits the health, safety, and prosperity of the American people by providing trusted and timely information to help address the Nation’s toughest management and conservation issues impacting public lands and the surrounding communities that benefit from them. 

Contact Us

USGS Science for Food & Water Security

A view of a farm field in Iowa

USGS Ecosystems Mission Area science helps ensure safe and abundant domestic food and water supplies, ensuring all Americans access to livelihoods and traditions that connect generations with each other and the outdoors and strengthen America’s self-reliance

Explore the Science

USGS Science for Public Safety & Security

Before and after pictures - Hurricane Rita and Holly Beach, Louisiana, USA

Science within the USGS Ecosystems Mission Area provides a critical advantage in addressing public safety, infrastructure, and security issues surrounding natural disasters and changing landscapes, strengthening America’s ability to be a hazard ready Nation. 

Learn More

USGS Science for Economic Growth

A pronghorn stands in front of oil and gas development infrastructure, Vernal, Utah

Science provided by the USGS Ecosystems Mission Area helps boost America’s economy by providing practical tools to implement cost-effective management and development strategies that supports the Nation’s economic growth and protects our natural heritage.

Explore the Science

News

Reeling in Cleaner Data: Experts Use AI to Support Resilient Inland Fisheries

Reeling in Cleaner Data: Experts Use AI to Support Resilient Inland Fisheries

Western Fisheries Research Center Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) Meeting - August 19, 2026

Western Fisheries Research Center Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) Meeting - August 19, 2026

Advancing the Science and Management of Range Shifts

Advancing the Science and Management of Range Shifts

View All

Publications

When best intentions are not enough - A collaboration between scientists, policymakers, and an agricultural community When best intentions are not enough - A collaboration between scientists, policymakers, and an agricultural community

Rocky Mountain National Park is a Congressionally mandated Clean Air Act Class I Area, but years of research have documented evidence of biogeochemical and ecological change caused by atmospheric deposition of nitrogen. A coalition of government agencies—National Park Service, the Environmental Protection Agency Region 8, and the State of Colorado—developed the 2007 Nitrogen Deposition...
Authors
Jill Baron, Sarah Lindley, Jeffrey Collett, Lillian Naimie
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Fort Collins Science Center

BioShifts v2 and BioShiftR: Tools for navigating and analysing species range shift data BioShifts v2 and BioShiftR: Tools for navigating and analysing species range shift data

Species are redistributing their ranges globally in response to climate change, but the fragmented and complex nature of the documented responses make them challenging to track and analyze. Synthesis of species’ range shifts requires careful integration and consideration of varying methods and scales of study. Here, we present an updated database that combines two previous data...
Authors
Jake A. Lawlor, Brunno Oliviera, Nikki Moore, Jonathan Lenoir, R. M.W.J. Bandara, R. Bertrand, I-Ching Chen, Sarah E. Diamond, G. Grenouillet, Lesley T. Lancaster, Malin Pinsky, Jonathan Rolland, Brett R. Scheffers, Fabricio Villalobos, Barrett Wolfe, Jennifer Sunday, Sarah R. Weiskopf, Lise Comte
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Climate Adaptation Science Centers

Bayesian hierarchical model of lake whitefish cohort strength from sparse trawl data Bayesian hierarchical model of lake whitefish cohort strength from sparse trawl data

Recruitment indices for rare or intermittently recruiting fishes are needed to compare year classes and evaluate recruitment drivers, but sparse trawl data with many zero-catch observations complicate estimation. We used fall bottom trawl data from New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio surveys in Lake Erie's central and eastern basins to estimate annual relative cohort strength of age-0 lake...
Authors
Zachary J Amidon, Song S. Qian, Robin L. DeBruyne, Mark Richard Dufour, Christine M. Mayer, Edward Roseman, Alexis McCarter
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Great Lakes Science Center
View All

Science

A white-tailed deer fawn taking refuge in vegetation.

Advancing the Use of RT-QuIC for Applications in CWD Management

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is an emerging infectious disease that is fatal to free-ranging and captive animals in Cervidae, the deer family. The development of the real-time quaking-induced conversion (RT-QuIC) assay has the potential to transform laboratory research of prions and provide new opportunities for improved surveillance and management.
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Biological Threats and Invasive Species Research Program, National Wildlife Health Center
Advancing the Use of RT-QuIC for Applications in CWD Management

Advancing the Use of RT-QuIC for Applications in CWD Management

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is an emerging infectious disease that is fatal to free-ranging and captive animals in Cervidae, the deer family. The development of the real-time quaking-induced conversion (RT-QuIC) assay has the potential to transform laboratory research of prions and provide new opportunities for improved surveillance and management.
Learn More
Gloved hands holding a bat white glove scientists administers vaccine orally.

White-nose Syndrome Vaccine Updates

Since its emergence in 2006, white-nose syndrome (WNS) continues to spread in North America and has substantially impacted hibernating bat populations, contributing to declines of over 90% in northern long-eared ( Myotis septentrionalis), little brown ( Myotis lucifugus), and tri-colored bat ( Perimyotis subflavus) populations. We are developing tools and management strategies to protect bat...
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Biological Threats and Invasive Species Research Program, National Wildlife Health Center
White-nose Syndrome Vaccine Updates

White-nose Syndrome Vaccine Updates

Since its emergence in 2006, white-nose syndrome (WNS) continues to spread in North America and has substantially impacted hibernating bat populations, contributing to declines of over 90% in northern long-eared ( Myotis septentrionalis), little brown ( Myotis lucifugus), and tri-colored bat ( Perimyotis subflavus) populations. We are developing tools and management strategies to protect bat...
Learn More
Silver trailer sitting outside

Not All PFAS Are Alike: Fish Responses Reveal The Importance Of Real-World Mixtures

A USGS study demonstrates the importance of monitoring not just the amount of PFAS in groundwater, but the PFAS mixture present. Building on two decades of experience conducting mobile laboratory experiments, USGS researchers applied this approach at a contaminated fire training area to evaluate how fish respond to complex PFAS mixtures, providing important scientific evidence that can improve how...
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Water Resources Mission Area, Contaminant Biology, Environmental Health Program, Toxic Substances Hydrology, Eastern Ecological Science Center, New England Water Science Center, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center
Not All PFAS Are Alike: Fish Responses Reveal The Importance Of Real-World Mixtures

Not All PFAS Are Alike: Fish Responses Reveal The Importance Of Real-World Mixtures

A USGS study demonstrates the importance of monitoring not just the amount of PFAS in groundwater, but the PFAS mixture present. Building on two decades of experience conducting mobile laboratory experiments, USGS researchers applied this approach at a contaminated fire training area to evaluate how fish respond to complex PFAS mixtures, providing important scientific evidence that can improve how...
Learn More
View All
Was this page helpful?