Images

USGS and USFWS logos with title "An Orchestra of Conservation for the Melodies of Hakalau Forest" featured on an image of a red apapane bird against a blue sky background

Photo of people birding in the Big Island National Wildlife Refuge in Hawai'i. Individuals hold binoculars and look out into the forested area.

Bright orange native Hawai‘i ‘ākepa sits in lush green tropical forested area in Hawai'i. 

Volunteers lean over to plant trees in grassy area of a forest in Hawai'i. These trees provide crucial habitat for native birds within the refuge.

Volunteers and scientists stand amidst tall trees in a Hawaiian forest where habitat restoration is taking place for native birds.

The white rod with the barcode is a digital elevation rod that a leveling gun reads to capture the elevation of whatever point the rod rests on. We measure elevation levels at reservoirs to make sure our sensors are reading correctly in relation to an assigned elevation datum.

Night-blooming jasmine (Cestrum nocturnum), a highly invasive plant in Hawai‘i.

Tropical dry forests are vulnerable to transformations to invasive forest and invasive grassland. Puʻu Waʻawaʻa Forest Reserve and Puʻuanahulu Game Management Area (collectively Nāpuʻu) encompass some of the most intact remaining dry forest in Hawaiʻi.

Restoration Ecologist, Michala Phillips, stands near ungulate exclusion fence in a restoration area on the Island of Hawai‘i. Puʻu Waʻawaʻa Forest Reserve and Puʻuanahulu Game Management Area (collectively Nāpuʻu) encompass some of the most intact remaining dry forest in Hawaiʻi.

Interior Secretary, Deb Haaland, presented with lei by David Phillips, Deputy Scientist-in-Charge of the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, during a ceremony to celebrate the creation of a new facility that will monitor volcanoes and support conservation science.

Mariana swiftlets (chachaguak; Aerodramus bartschi) roosting in Mahlac Cave on Guam.

USGS volunteer Liliana sampling eDNA from a rock pool along the Puka stream. The eDNA sampled by USGS field crews helps to inform research on invasive mosquito population dynamics.

Kili Kawaiaea and Liliana Tobar sampling eDNA from a rock pool along the Puka Stream.

USGS volunteer Kili sampling eDNA from a rock pool along the Puka stream. The eDNA sampled by USGS field crews helps to inform research on invasive mosquito population dynamics.

USGS volunteer Liliana uses a syringe to draw an eDNA sample from a rock pool along the Puka Stream. The eDNA sampled by USGS field crews informs research on invasive mosquito population dynamics.

USGS biological technician Lauren Smith holds a water sample for eDNA analysis. The eDNA samples inform studies on invasive southern house mosquito population dynamics. 

A group of controlled Culex mosquito eggs are viewed under a microscope in a California laboratory as part of an effort to mitigate avian malaria throughout the Hawaiian Islands. Image by Mia Takai 

USGS volunteer Maura, processes a negative eDNA sample in the field. A negative eDNA sample has contains no DNA and is used as a comparison to samples from mosquito habitat. One negative eDNA sample is taken per trip to verify that the collection process is clean with no contamination.

On a mission for eDNA samples, a USGS field crew hiking near Palikea Camp, in Kipahulu Valley, Haleakala National Park. 

Photograph of field researchers gathering samples for mosquito research at Delta pool. 

A sentinel trap rests in the grass awaiting unwary mosquitos to wander in. Sentinel traps work by luring mosquitos with human odors and CO2.