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Ecosystems Mission Area

The USGS Ecosystems Mission Area provides science to help America achieve sustainable management and conservation of biological resources in wild and urban spaces, and places in between.

News

Stopping invaders at the doorstep: FORT researchers launch version 4.0 of the Invasive Species Habitat Tool

Stopping invaders at the doorstep: FORT researchers launch version 4.0 of the Invasive Species Habitat Tool

Helene and Milton potentially spread invasive species to new locations in Florida and Georgia

Helene and Milton potentially spread invasive species to new locations in Florida and Georgia

USGS EcoNews | Fall 2024 - Vol. 5 | Issue 4

Publications

U.S. Geological Survey science strategy to address chronic wasting disease and cervid health in 2024–2028

Chronic wasting disease (CWD), a neurological disease similar to scrapie in goats and sheep, has been spreading since the 1960s throughout cervid populations in the United States. It is currently detected in 30 States and now also extends to Canada, Korea, and Scandinavia. CWD is a fatal disease caused by an infectious abnormally folded prion protein. Population-level effects of CWD on localized s
Authors
Jason Ferrante, Jonathan Cook, Paul Cross, M. Camille Hopkins

Trophic transfer of fipronil residues to black-footed ferrets: Implications for ferret safety, flea control, and plague mitigation

Sylvatic plague, caused by the flea-borne bacterium Yersinia pestis, is an invasive disease in North America that causes reductions of native fauna and transforms ecosystems. Fipronil baits have shown promise in reducing flea loads on prairie dogs Cynomys spp. for plague mitigation. Many species depend on prairie dogs and their ecological influences, including the black-footed ferret Mustela nigri
Authors
Tyler N. Tretten, David A. Eads, John P. Hughes, Gregory P. Dooley, Dean E. Biggins

Cryospheric sciences at the U.S. Geological Survey

IntroductionThe cryosphere is the collective parts of the Earth where water is in its frozen state and includes snow, glaciers, ice sheets, ice shelves, freshwater ice, sea ice, and permafrost. The cryosphere is a climate indicator and climate regulator. Surface cryosphere features, such as glaciers, snow, and sea ice, store freshwater and make the surface of the Earth bright white, which affects
Authors
Caitlyn Florentine, Erich Peitzsch, Miriam C. Jones, Theodore B. Barnhart, Thomas M. Cronin

Science

Boreal Partners in Flight

Welcome to the Alaska Landbird Resource Information System, the official web site 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.
link

Boreal Partners in Flight

Welcome to the Alaska Landbird Resource Information System, the official web site 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.
Learn More

Expanding Distribution of Chronic Wasting Disease

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) has been detected in 35 US states and five Canadian provinces in free-ranging cervids and/or commercial captive cervid facilities. CWD has been detected in free-ranging cervids in 35 states and four provinces and in captive cervid facilities in 21 states and three provinces.
link

Expanding Distribution of Chronic Wasting Disease

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) has been detected in 35 US states and five Canadian provinces in free-ranging cervids and/or commercial captive cervid facilities. CWD has been detected in free-ranging cervids in 35 states and four provinces and in captive cervid facilities in 21 states and three provinces.
Learn More

Walrus Research

The USGS Alaska Science Center conducts long-term research on the Pacific walrus to provide scientific information to Department of Interior management agencies and Alaska Native co-management partners. In addition, the USGS Pacific walrus research program collaborates with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the State of Alaska’s Department of Fish and Game and Alaska Native co...
link

Walrus Research

The USGS Alaska Science Center conducts long-term research on the Pacific walrus to provide scientific information to Department of Interior management agencies and Alaska Native co-management partners. In addition, the USGS Pacific walrus research program collaborates with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the State of Alaska’s Department of Fish and Game and Alaska Native co...
Learn More
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