Images

Zoomed aerial image of a Black-footed Albatross (Phoebastria nigripes) taking off from the water.

Zoomed image of small terns in flight.

Zoomed image of a group of adult and immature Western Gulls (Larus occidentalis).

Zoomed image of a Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) and a group of shearwaters feeding in southern California.

Zoomed image of a Cuvier’s Beaked Whale (Ziphius cavirostris) below the surface.

Incense cedar in the Sierra Nevada

Zoomed in aerial photo of a sunfish (Mola mola).

Brown pelicans viewed from a plane.

Marine layer rolling in over the Santa Ynez mountains near Santa Barbara. En route to begin a seabird and marine mammal aerial survey off Central California.

Marine layer rolling in over the Santa Ynez mountains near Santa Barbara.  En route to begin a seabird and marine mammal aerial survey off Central California.

Marine layer rolling in over the Santa Ynez mountains near Santa Barbara.  En route to begin a seabird and marine mammal aerial survey off Central California.

Oil on the surface of water in the Southern CA Bight. Offshore seeps in Southern California add about 5 million gallons of oil to the ocean annually, with wide interannual variation (National Academy of Sciences, 2003).

 Fin Whale (Balaenoptera physalus) breaking the surface.

Research scientist Lesley DeFalco works on native and invasive annual plant sampling at the site of the Tramp Fire,one of 12 fires for which the USGS and the BLM are implementing landscape scale restoration treatments.

Small plants grow beneath the needles of a Bishop pine

Now that Forster’s terns have returned to nesting in Pond A16, an important nesting colony has been re-established, with hopes that this tern colony will grow in future years and help reverse the decline of the Forster’s tern population in San Francisco Bay.

Aerial view of Channel Islands.

Aerial view of Channel Islands.

Aerial view of Channel Islands.

James Molden shows off an Orange-throated Whiptail (Aspidoscelis hyperythra) while conducting the monthly pitfall trap monitoring at Cabrillo National Monument. The traps were put in place over 20 years ago by researcher Robert Fisher. USGS is looking at the effects of fragmentation on the isolated amphibian and reptile community at the monument.

James Molden takes habitat photos for Arroyo Toad surveys in Santa Ysabel Creek.