Images

Specimens from a USGS Lepidoptera Research Collection stored at the Kansas WSC Organic Geochemistry Reseearch Laboratory. Specimens are received as part of a Citizen Science effort to establish a collection to further insect research. 

Smallmouth Bass are good indicators of methylmercury exposure to humans and wildlife because they are a common, popular sport fish and eat a variety of food during their lifetime. Juvenile Smallmouth Bass – smaller than 150mm in length - eat zooplankton, or microscopic animals.

Drawing showing climate change impacts to each life cycle stage of monarchs: 1) Butterflies lay fewer eggs in wetter conditions, 2) Warmer temperatures reduce milkweed growth, leaving caterpillars hungry, 3) Erratic winters freeze overwintering pupae, 4) Shifting seasons disrupt migrations.

Image of pipettors used in the laboratory. Pipettes are stored on charging docking stations. 

Scientists survey prairie potholes in Wells County, North Dakota. 

The Prairie Pothole Region extends across the central United States and Canada, providing wetland and grassland habitat to thousands of species, including critical breeding habitat for migratory waterbirds. 

Screenshot of the USGS Wildfire Hazard and Risk Assessment Clearinghouse. The clearinghouse provides a description and information about the spatial extent, resolution, fire modeling approach, values considered (assets and resources), and vintage of LANDFIRE and fire dat

Image shows equipment for analysis of targeted and non-targeted organic contaminants at the OGRL located at the KS WSC. 

Northern Arizona University graduate student Ri Corwin collects soil for greenhouse inoculation experiments. Photo by Laura Shriver.

Northern Arizona University graduate students monitor seedling emergence in a northern Arizona RestoreNet site. Photo by Laura Shriver.

Graph showing budget and staffing data for the U.S. Geological Survey Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units program during fiscal years 2003-2022. Note that the scale of the left y-axis starts at 75 personnel. 

Fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas), pond mussel (Ligumia subrostrata), and passive samplers in an exposure tank housed inside of a mobile laboratory at the legacy fire-training area contaminated by PFAS derived from aqueous film-forming foams on Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

Mail in deceased butterflies, moths, and skippers and help United States Geological Survey(USGS) scientists establish a Lepidoptera Research Collection (LRC). Specimens will help USGS scientists identify contaminants and environmental factors which may be contributing to the decline of insect populations.

This is the instrument laboratory of the Organic Geochemistry Research Laboratory located in the KS WSC.

Sphaeralcea ambigua, a native plant seeded during RestoreNet experiments, thriving at the Lake Pleasant RestoreNet site in the Sonoran Desert. Photo by Laura Shriver.

Close up of Sonoran Desert flowers, including California poppy, lupines, and purple owl's clover. Photo by Laura Shriver.

The RestoreNet plot at McDowell Sonoran Preserve was surrounded by blooming native wildflowers, including purple owl's clover (Castillejia exserta). Photo by Laura Shriver.

Biologists from RAMPS and McDowell Sonoran Preserve monitor a RestoreNet restoration site in the Sonoran Desert. Photo by Laura Shriver.

Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center scientist examining a snow sample while standing in a snow pit to better understand snowpack characteristics that lead to avalanches. 

Image of numerous bottles of water used increasingly as an alternative drinking water source.

A graphic created for the 2023 National Invasive Species Awareness Week social media campaign

An overview of the effects of climate change on the spread of avian malaria and its subsequent impacts on Hawaiian forest birds.