Images

An adult Oregon spotted frog basking in the sun in wetland habitat in the Klamath Basin of Oregon. At this site on a private ranch, the owner is collaborating with researchers and wildlife managers to remove invasive American bullfrogs and restore aquatic habitat.

Jill Shaffer and Todd Katzner presented three talks at the Eagles of the Palearctic Conference in Almaty, Kazakhstan in September 2023 as part of the Embassy Science Fellowship program. 

Jill Shaffer presenting on the impacts of renewable energy on golden eagles in the U.S. at the Eagles of the Palearctic Conference in Almaty, Kazakhstan, in September 2023. 

USGS scientist Jennifer Fredrickson using radio telemetry to track northwestern pond turtles at Fall Creek Reservoir in Oregon.

Todd Katzner confers with two graduate student collaborators, Nicole Ibrahim from the University of Maryland and Bekzhan Berdikul from the Institute of Zoology in Kazakhstan, on techniques for banding and sampling feathers for stable-isotope research at Chokpak Ornithological Station in Chokpak, Kazakhstan. 

Jill Shaffer stands below Heligoland nets used to capture migrating birds for banding efforts at Chokpak Ornithological Station in Chokpak, Kazakhstan. Heligoland nets are installed on top of hills or mountains, where they act as funnels, directing birds into a cage.

USGS scientists Jill Shaffer (left), Todd Katzner (right), and University of Maryland graduate student Nicole Ibrahim (center) take a break from netting and banding birds at Chokpak Ornithological Research Station in Kazakhstan. The Tian Shan Mountains are visible in the background.

A Motus tower installed on the spillway of the former Glines Canyon Dam in Olympic National Park. The solar-powered array of radio antennae will detect the signals send by tiny transmitters known as “nanotags” that have been attached to small flying animals. This tower was installed to study bat movement behavior.

Researchers examine a bat wing while in the process of capturing bats to attach tiny Motus radio tags to track their movements.

A researcher holds a myotis bat during the process of capturing bats to fit them with Motus transmitters.

A team of biologists prepares to measure, weigh, and tag a captured bats. On the left, USGS biologist Gabe Reyes has a bat in a bag, used to separate and calm the bats. USGS biologist Julia Ersan is holding some alcohol used to ensure clean instruments and work surfaces, and USGS biologist Austin Waag is getting something out of a backpack.

A sagebrush steppe landscape in northern Nevada, photographed during field work near Owyhee.

Scientists using binoculars and radio telemetry to survey for northwestern pond turtles at Hills Creek Reservoir in Oregon. USGS is collaborating with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to study turtle movements in reservoirs in response to fluctuating water levels.

A plot that was sprayed with herbicides to control invasion of exotic annual grasses after the Martin Fire in northern Nevada. The white line defines the boundaries of the plot.

A FIREss team scientist analyzing field data at the Snake River Field Station in Boise, Idaho.

A field of sagebrush in northern Nevada, photographed at sunset after a day of field work.

Scientists in the field monitoring the effects of experimental herbicide treatments for controlling exotic annual grasses in the Boise River Wildlife Management Area.

A map of an area of the Minidoka National Wildlife Refuge that was burned by wildfire. Researchers conducted experiments testing the longevity of herbicides for controlling exotic annual grasses. The fire perimeter is displayed with a red outline. Stripes of tan were sprayed with indaziflam. Stripes of purple were treated with indaziflam and imazapic.

A sagebrush seedling that was grown in a nursery and then planted at the site of the Martin Fire in northern Nevada

A field technician photographing a vegetation monitoring plot at the site of the Martin Fire in northern Nevada.

A sagebrush plant photographed at a park in Boise, Idaho. Sagebrush landscapes cover a vast part of the western U.S. but are threatened by invasive grasses and a cycle of more frequent and more intense wildfires.