The Molecular Ecology Lab at the USGS Alaska Science Center provides genetic information on the health and status of biological resources for diverse local, state, and federal partners.
Videos
See our science in action.
The Molecular Ecology Lab at the USGS Alaska Science Center provides genetic information on the health and status of biological resources for diverse local, state, and federal partners.
![USGS Alaska Science Center Shorebird Research Program White breasted bird with orange feet, black/brown back, short beak](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/masonry/public/thumbnails/image/Ruddy_Turnstone_NSlope_7-13-10_Ryan_Askren.jpg?itok=ZHL9NUSw)
The USGS Alaska Science Center shorebird research program focuses on studies that improve our knowledge of shorebirds and addresses key questions for management agencies about the distribution and abundance of these species.
The USGS Alaska Science Center shorebird research program focuses on studies that improve our knowledge of shorebirds and addresses key questions for management agencies about the distribution and abundance of these species.
![USGS Alaska Science Center Polar Bear Research Program Large polar bear](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/masonry/public/thumbnails/image/large_polar_bear_4-1-2009_Mike_Lockhart.jpg?itok=CpJkn_SP)
The USGS Alaska Science Center leads long–term research on polar bears to inform local, state, national and international policy makers regarding conservation of the species and its habitat.
The USGS Alaska Science Center leads long–term research on polar bears to inform local, state, national and international policy makers regarding conservation of the species and its habitat.
A video tutorial of the Locations features in the Bander Portal (permitted bander access). This includes viewing, modifying, and adding locations in the Portal.
A video tutorial of the Locations features in the Bander Portal (permitted bander access). This includes viewing, modifying, and adding locations in the Portal.
![Land Treatment Exploration Tool: New Features for 2022 main title: land treatment exploration tool, subtitle: new features in 2022, to the left of text are the BLM and USGS logos](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/masonry/public/media/images/Screenshot%20%2895%29.png?itok=8JFgwQxj)
This is a quick introduction video to guide users through new features added to the Land Treatment Exploration Tool in 2022.
This is a quick introduction video to guide users through new features added to the Land Treatment Exploration Tool in 2022.
![Training Webinar (2022): Using Kaleidoscope to process bat acoustic data for NaBat Black background with text "Training Webinar (2022): Using Kaleidoscope to process bat acoustic data for NaBat upload"](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/masonry/public/media/images/Kaleidoscope%20Fall%202022%20thumbnail.jpg?itok=o54PKVi3)
Training Webinar (2022): Using Kaleidoscope to process bat acoustic data for NaBat upload.
Training Webinar (2022): Using Kaleidoscope to process bat acoustic data for NaBat upload.
Collaborative Development of a Framework to Assess NPS Cultural Resources Vulnerabilities to Climate Change in the Intermountain Region
linkThis video was created as part of the Climate Change Science and Management Webinar Series hosted by the U.S. Geological Survey's National Climate Adaptation Science Center and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's National Conservation Training Center.
Collaborative Development of a Framework to Assess NPS Cultural Resources Vulnerabilities to Climate Change in the Intermountain Region
linkThis video was created as part of the Climate Change Science and Management Webinar Series hosted by the U.S. Geological Survey's National Climate Adaptation Science Center and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's National Conservation Training Center.
![Escanaba Trough Expedition: Biological Communities (AD) A pale lavender deep-sea octopus found at Escanaba Trough](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/masonry/public/media/images/EscanabaTrough_BiologicalCommunities_Cover.png?itok=qaADz1Xf)
The familiar saying “good things come in small packages” holds especially true for deep-sea biological communities at hydrothermal vents, including those at Escanaba Trough, a seafloor spreading center located almost 200 miles off the northern California coast.
The familiar saying “good things come in small packages” holds especially true for deep-sea biological communities at hydrothermal vents, including those at Escanaba Trough, a seafloor spreading center located almost 200 miles off the northern California coast.
![Escanaba Trough Expedition: Biological Communities A pale lavender deep-sea octopus found at Escanaba Trough](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/masonry/public/media/images/EscanabaTrough_BiologicalCommunities_Cover.png?itok=qaADz1Xf)
The familiar saying “good things come in small packages” holds especially true for deep-sea biological communities at hydrothermal vents, including those at Escanaba Trough, a seafloor spreading center located almost 200 miles off the northern California coast.
The familiar saying “good things come in small packages” holds especially true for deep-sea biological communities at hydrothermal vents, including those at Escanaba Trough, a seafloor spreading center located almost 200 miles off the northern California coast.
![Scientists Release Mountain Yellow-Legged Froglets into Stream A tiny frog hopping out of a container held by a scientist into a stream, with screen text that says "Plop"](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/masonry/public/media/images/20220728_143332_AB.00_00_38_12.Still003.jpg?itok=sJLb9Dw3)
This video captures a moment when USGS scientist Elizabeth Gallegos released 8 zoo-raised froglets into a stream, just one of several such reintroductions last summer. The long-term goal is to create 25 populations of a few hundred to a thousand frogs each. This summer, the team will revisit the sites to see how the frogs are doing.
This video captures a moment when USGS scientist Elizabeth Gallegos released 8 zoo-raised froglets into a stream, just one of several such reintroductions last summer. The long-term goal is to create 25 populations of a few hundred to a thousand frogs each. This summer, the team will revisit the sites to see how the frogs are doing.
![Barren-Ground Caribou Eating Tussock Cottongrass Flowerheads Looking at underneath of caribou face as she is eats tussock cottongrass with a GPS-enabled video camera attached to collar.](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/masonry/public/media/images/Thumbnail_Caribou_Eating_Eriophorum.png?itok=bpTyqp_f)
This is B-roll video collected from an adult female caribou wearing a camera collar feeding on tussock cottongrass in USFWS Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, June 13, 2021.
This is B-roll video collected from an adult female caribou wearing a camera collar feeding on tussock cottongrass in USFWS Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, June 13, 2021.
A video narrated by National CASC Fish Biologist Abby Lynch explaining the Resist-Accept-Direct Framework, a decision-making tool that helps resource managers make informed strategies for responding to ecological changes resulting from climate change_._ The video is a narrated slide show with animations and photos guiding the viewer through the framework.
A video narrated by National CASC Fish Biologist Abby Lynch explaining the Resist-Accept-Direct Framework, a decision-making tool that helps resource managers make informed strategies for responding to ecological changes resulting from climate change_._ The video is a narrated slide show with animations and photos guiding the viewer through the framework.
A video narrated by National CASC Fish Biologist Abby Lynch explaining the Resist-Accept-Direct Framework, a decision-making tool that helps resource managers make informed strategies for responding to ecological changes resulting from climate change_._ The video is a narrated slide show with animations and photos guiding the viewer through the framework.
A video narrated by National CASC Fish Biologist Abby Lynch explaining the Resist-Accept-Direct Framework, a decision-making tool that helps resource managers make informed strategies for responding to ecological changes resulting from climate change_._ The video is a narrated slide show with animations and photos guiding the viewer through the framework.
The complex, three-dimensional reefs built by corals over hundreds to thousands of years provide invaluable ecosystem services to society—contributing billions of dollars per year to the global economy through shoreline protection, tourism, and habitat for biodiversity and fisheries.
The complex, three-dimensional reefs built by corals over hundreds to thousands of years provide invaluable ecosystem services to society—contributing billions of dollars per year to the global economy through shoreline protection, tourism, and habitat for biodiversity and fisheries.
The complex, three-dimensional reefs built by corals over hundreds to thousands of years provide invaluable ecosystem services to society—contributing billions of dollars per year to the global economy through shoreline protection, tourism, and habitat for biodiversity and fisheries.
The complex, three-dimensional reefs built by corals over hundreds to thousands of years provide invaluable ecosystem services to society—contributing billions of dollars per year to the global economy through shoreline protection, tourism, and habitat for biodiversity and fisheries.
![The RAD (Resist-Accept-Direct) Climate Adaptation Framework RAD Webinar opening slide](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/masonry/public/media/images/RADWebinar_screenshot.jpg?itok=BW02jhNy)
Ecosystems are transforming under climate change, with substantial shifts in ecological processes (e.g. fire, landscape connectivity) and important ecosystem services (e.g. pollination, water filtration) occurring at unprecedented rates.
Ecosystems are transforming under climate change, with substantial shifts in ecological processes (e.g. fire, landscape connectivity) and important ecosystem services (e.g. pollination, water filtration) occurring at unprecedented rates.
![Training Webinar: Creating an NABat Partner Portal Project Black background with text "Creating an NABat Partner Portal Project" text in white.](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/masonry/public/media/images/Create%20Project%20thumbnail.jpg?itok=fT68boZ9)
Training Webinar, hosted by Frank Tousley (Student Service Contractor for USGS) and Dane Smith on Creating an NABat Partner Portal Project.
Training Webinar, hosted by Frank Tousley (Student Service Contractor for USGS) and Dane Smith on Creating an NABat Partner Portal Project.
![Climate Science Champions, Season 1: Mike Carey, Research Fish Ecologist Misty pine trees overlaid with photo of smiling white man in a red and white striped beanie](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/masonry/public/media/images/Climate%20Champions_Michael%20Carey.png?itok=pPoZlkDO)
Fish Ecologist Mike Carey studies the impacts beavers have on warming Alaskan permafrost landscapes.
Fish Ecologist Mike Carey studies the impacts beavers have on warming Alaskan permafrost landscapes.
![Climate Science Champions, Season 1: Heather Johnson, Research Wildlife Biologist Background of a misty boreal forest, overlaid with an image of smiling white woman with short brown hair wearing a parka](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/masonry/public/media/images/Climate%20Science%20Champions_Heather%20Johnson_Cover_Square.png?itok=lSNujWh2)
USGS Wildlife Research Biologist Heather Johnson uses collar-mounted video cameras to peer into the lives of climate-threatened caribou.
USGS Wildlife Research Biologist Heather Johnson uses collar-mounted video cameras to peer into the lives of climate-threatened caribou.
![Climate Science Champions, Season 2: Ferdinand Oberle, Research Geologist Background of coral reefs beneath waves. Overlaid with photo of smiling man with curly black hair and a black beard.](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/masonry/public/media/images/Climate%20Champions_Ferdinand%20Oberle.png?itok=Ok8nIDTY)
Along reef-lined shores of the Pacific Islands, USGS Research Geologist and Oceanographer Ferdinand Oberle studies how warming surface waters, nutrient runoff, and increasingly powerful storms impact coral reefs.
Along reef-lined shores of the Pacific Islands, USGS Research Geologist and Oceanographer Ferdinand Oberle studies how warming surface waters, nutrient runoff, and increasingly powerful storms impact coral reefs.
![Climate Science Champions, Season 1: Vijay Patil, Wildlife Biologist Misty pine trees overlaid with a photo of a smiling man in warm clothes holding a sea bird.](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/masonry/public/media/images/Climate%20Champions_Vijay%20Patil.png?itok=xxcLFu6h)
Wildlife Biologist Vijay Patil explores the effects of climate change and shifting seasons on Arctic-nesting waterfowl.
Wildlife Biologist Vijay Patil explores the effects of climate change and shifting seasons on Arctic-nesting waterfowl.