Species We Study: Terrestrial Mammals
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By Species Management Research Program
September 28, 2022
USGS research into environmental stressors (e.g., climate, drought, floods, wildland fire) and anthropogenic stressors (e.g., energy production, urban encroachment, water abatement) provides managers with information to reduce or eliminate impacts from stressors to fish and wildlife populations and advances our understanding of the efficacy of conservation and adaptation actions to mitigate land-use and climate change impacts on sensitive species.
Terrestrial Mammal Research
Terrestrial Mammal Research
Filter Total Items: 49
Terrestrial Mammal Research
Understanding the population dynamics, predator/prey relationships and habitat ecology of terrestrial mammals, such as caribou and muskoxen, is critical for the management of these species and their habitats in Alaska.
The New Mexico Landscapes Field Station
The New Mexico Landscapes Field Station is a place-based, globally connected, ecological research group that studies ecosystem and wildlife dynamics, working with land managers, community leaders, and Tribes to deliver solutions that foster the linked health of human and natural systems. For over three decades, we have focused on shifting research needs from forest watershed health to wildlife...
Informing Renewable Energy Development Siting Decisions with Vertebrate Biodiversity Measures
Renewable energy development is expanding in southwestern deserts, including in Arizona. Energy developers look to resource management agencies to provide siting guidance on public lands where there might be conflicts with wildlife. Often, agency guidance considers species of conservation concern and economic importance, but information on comprehensive vertebrate biodiversity has been hard to...
A Rapid CRISPR-based Field Test for the Non-invasive Detection of the Fungal Causative Agent of White-nose Syndrome
White-nose syndrome has killed more than five million bats since its discovery in 2006. USGS is developing a non-invasive and user-friendly CRISPR white-nose syndrome biosensor to allow for quick detection of the pathogen that causes the disease.
Bat foraging ecology along the Colorado River in Grand Canyon
Grand Canyon National Park is a hotspot for bat diversity. Twenty-two bat species have been documented in the Park, more than any other national park unit.
Grizzly Bear Research at the Montana Wildlife CRU
Sarah Sells ssells@usgs.gov received her BS from Oregon State University and MS and PhD from the University of Montana. She was a postdoctoral research scientist before joining the Montana Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit in 2022. Dr. Sells is a basic and applied ecologist with expertise in animal behavior, spatial ecology, quantitative analyses, agency collaboration, and decision analysis. Her...
Research to understand SARS-CoV-2 risks for wildlife
Multiple research endeavors at the USGS National Wildlife Health Center are ongoing to help assess the possible impacts of SARS-CoV-2 on wildlife.
Conservation Genetics of the Hawaiian Hoary Bat
The Hawaiian Hoary Bat ( Lasiurus semotus) or ʻōpeʻapeʻa is the only extant land mammal native to the Hawaiian archipelago and is listed as endangered due to apparent population declines, and a lack of knowledge concerning its distribution, abundance, and habitat needs. This study is designed to apply molecular techniques to document demographic information, assess genetic variability, describe...
Field trials for testing of white-nose syndrome vaccine candidates
White-nose syndrome (WNS), caused by the fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd), continues to decimate bat populations in North America, and efforts to develop treatment options have intensified. One potential method for controlling WNS is vaccination of bats with specific antigens to elicit a protective immune response.
Understanding Greater Everglades Mammal Communities within and adjacent to the Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge
WARC Researchers are using a variety of methods to assess mammal communities across the Greater Everglades.
Bison Conservation
USGS science in support of the Department of the Interior's Bison Conservation Initiative.
Spatial Ecology of Bobcats in the Greater Everglades
WARC researchers will estimate the density and distribution of bobcats in relation to environmental variables through the development of spatially explicit capture-recapture and occupancy models.
Support the Development of a National Park Service Midwest Region bison stewardship strategy
Bison have played a key role in shaping the grasslands of the Great Plains for millennia. National Parks are a major last bastion for wild herds of the national mammal and symbol of the Department of the Interior. However, even as the National Park Service aims to maintain as natural as possible ecosystem conditions within its parks’ boundaries, managers regularly make decisions affecting their...
Managing for Grassland Health at Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge
Southern Arizona’s semi-desert grasslands provides habitat for flora and fauna, regulates rainfall infiltration and overland flow, mitigates surface erosion and dust production, and sequesters carbon. Sustainable management is important to maintain these ecological services and is of concern for the managers, ranchers, and other people associated with the grassland. The Buenos Aires National...
A Generalized Estimator for Estimating Bird and Bat Mortality at Renewable Energy Facilities - GenEst
GenEst - One estimator for accurate bird and bat fatality estimates
Grazing resources for integrated conservation of bison and native prairie at Badlands National Park, South Dakota
Badlands National Park (BADL) contains one of the largest protected expanses of mixed-grass prairie in the United States, much of which supports a herd of nearly wild bison. The park nevertheless is too small to accommodate bison’s natural nomadic behavior, which in the past resulted in their ephemeral but intense influence on Great Plains grasslands. This research is assessing the spatial...
Ellesmere wolf movements
Wolves on Ellesmere Island, just south of the North Pole, survive in extreme cold during 24 hours of darkness per day from November through January, and survive in much higher temperatures during 24 hours of light per day from April through September. Partnering with other agencies, we use GPS radio collars applied to wolves during summer to examine wolf-pack movements on Ellesmere Island...
Yellowstone wolf restoration
The National Park Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reintroduced wolves into Yellowstone National Park in 1995 and 1996. This study helps assess that population’s recovery and determine factors that affect the population, including diseases, intraspecific strife, and interactions with prey. The restoration has been very successful, and the population has persisted for more than 20 years...
Superior National Forest wolf population trajectory
When the wolf was listed as endangered, the last remaining mainland wolf population in the lower 48 states was in the Superior National Forest (SNF) of northeastern Minnesota. Since then, using radiocollaring and aerial tracking, we have studied the wolf population trend, factors influencing it, and prey species, white-tailed deer, moose, and beavers, affected by wolves. During winter 2018-2019...
Mountain Lions of the Intermountain West
The presence of top predators is considered an indication of ecosystem health and can play a vital role in ecosystem functioning by promoting biodiversity, and can contribute to regulating prey species abundance, and herbivory. In the intermountain west, the largest mammalian predator and obligate carnivore is the mountain lion, Puma concolor. This elusive and wide-ranging predator occupies a...
Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team
The Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team (IGBST) is an interdisciplinary group of scientists and biologists responsible for long-term monitoring and research efforts on grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE). The team was formed by the Department of the Interior (DOI) in 1973 as a direct result of controversy surrounding the closure of open pit garbage dumps within Yellowstone...
USGS research into environmental stressors (e.g., climate, drought, floods, wildland fire) and anthropogenic stressors (e.g., energy production, urban encroachment, water abatement) provides managers with information to reduce or eliminate impacts from stressors to fish and wildlife populations and advances our understanding of the efficacy of conservation and adaptation actions to mitigate land-use and climate change impacts on sensitive species.
Terrestrial Mammal Research
Terrestrial Mammal Research
Filter Total Items: 49
Terrestrial Mammal Research
Understanding the population dynamics, predator/prey relationships and habitat ecology of terrestrial mammals, such as caribou and muskoxen, is critical for the management of these species and their habitats in Alaska.
The New Mexico Landscapes Field Station
The New Mexico Landscapes Field Station is a place-based, globally connected, ecological research group that studies ecosystem and wildlife dynamics, working with land managers, community leaders, and Tribes to deliver solutions that foster the linked health of human and natural systems. For over three decades, we have focused on shifting research needs from forest watershed health to wildlife...
Informing Renewable Energy Development Siting Decisions with Vertebrate Biodiversity Measures
Renewable energy development is expanding in southwestern deserts, including in Arizona. Energy developers look to resource management agencies to provide siting guidance on public lands where there might be conflicts with wildlife. Often, agency guidance considers species of conservation concern and economic importance, but information on comprehensive vertebrate biodiversity has been hard to...
A Rapid CRISPR-based Field Test for the Non-invasive Detection of the Fungal Causative Agent of White-nose Syndrome
White-nose syndrome has killed more than five million bats since its discovery in 2006. USGS is developing a non-invasive and user-friendly CRISPR white-nose syndrome biosensor to allow for quick detection of the pathogen that causes the disease.
Bat foraging ecology along the Colorado River in Grand Canyon
Grand Canyon National Park is a hotspot for bat diversity. Twenty-two bat species have been documented in the Park, more than any other national park unit.
Grizzly Bear Research at the Montana Wildlife CRU
Sarah Sells ssells@usgs.gov received her BS from Oregon State University and MS and PhD from the University of Montana. She was a postdoctoral research scientist before joining the Montana Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit in 2022. Dr. Sells is a basic and applied ecologist with expertise in animal behavior, spatial ecology, quantitative analyses, agency collaboration, and decision analysis. Her...
Research to understand SARS-CoV-2 risks for wildlife
Multiple research endeavors at the USGS National Wildlife Health Center are ongoing to help assess the possible impacts of SARS-CoV-2 on wildlife.
Conservation Genetics of the Hawaiian Hoary Bat
The Hawaiian Hoary Bat ( Lasiurus semotus) or ʻōpeʻapeʻa is the only extant land mammal native to the Hawaiian archipelago and is listed as endangered due to apparent population declines, and a lack of knowledge concerning its distribution, abundance, and habitat needs. This study is designed to apply molecular techniques to document demographic information, assess genetic variability, describe...
Field trials for testing of white-nose syndrome vaccine candidates
White-nose syndrome (WNS), caused by the fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd), continues to decimate bat populations in North America, and efforts to develop treatment options have intensified. One potential method for controlling WNS is vaccination of bats with specific antigens to elicit a protective immune response.
Understanding Greater Everglades Mammal Communities within and adjacent to the Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge
WARC Researchers are using a variety of methods to assess mammal communities across the Greater Everglades.
Bison Conservation
USGS science in support of the Department of the Interior's Bison Conservation Initiative.
Spatial Ecology of Bobcats in the Greater Everglades
WARC researchers will estimate the density and distribution of bobcats in relation to environmental variables through the development of spatially explicit capture-recapture and occupancy models.
Support the Development of a National Park Service Midwest Region bison stewardship strategy
Bison have played a key role in shaping the grasslands of the Great Plains for millennia. National Parks are a major last bastion for wild herds of the national mammal and symbol of the Department of the Interior. However, even as the National Park Service aims to maintain as natural as possible ecosystem conditions within its parks’ boundaries, managers regularly make decisions affecting their...
Managing for Grassland Health at Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge
Southern Arizona’s semi-desert grasslands provides habitat for flora and fauna, regulates rainfall infiltration and overland flow, mitigates surface erosion and dust production, and sequesters carbon. Sustainable management is important to maintain these ecological services and is of concern for the managers, ranchers, and other people associated with the grassland. The Buenos Aires National...
A Generalized Estimator for Estimating Bird and Bat Mortality at Renewable Energy Facilities - GenEst
GenEst - One estimator for accurate bird and bat fatality estimates
Grazing resources for integrated conservation of bison and native prairie at Badlands National Park, South Dakota
Badlands National Park (BADL) contains one of the largest protected expanses of mixed-grass prairie in the United States, much of which supports a herd of nearly wild bison. The park nevertheless is too small to accommodate bison’s natural nomadic behavior, which in the past resulted in their ephemeral but intense influence on Great Plains grasslands. This research is assessing the spatial...
Ellesmere wolf movements
Wolves on Ellesmere Island, just south of the North Pole, survive in extreme cold during 24 hours of darkness per day from November through January, and survive in much higher temperatures during 24 hours of light per day from April through September. Partnering with other agencies, we use GPS radio collars applied to wolves during summer to examine wolf-pack movements on Ellesmere Island...
Yellowstone wolf restoration
The National Park Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reintroduced wolves into Yellowstone National Park in 1995 and 1996. This study helps assess that population’s recovery and determine factors that affect the population, including diseases, intraspecific strife, and interactions with prey. The restoration has been very successful, and the population has persisted for more than 20 years...
Superior National Forest wolf population trajectory
When the wolf was listed as endangered, the last remaining mainland wolf population in the lower 48 states was in the Superior National Forest (SNF) of northeastern Minnesota. Since then, using radiocollaring and aerial tracking, we have studied the wolf population trend, factors influencing it, and prey species, white-tailed deer, moose, and beavers, affected by wolves. During winter 2018-2019...
Mountain Lions of the Intermountain West
The presence of top predators is considered an indication of ecosystem health and can play a vital role in ecosystem functioning by promoting biodiversity, and can contribute to regulating prey species abundance, and herbivory. In the intermountain west, the largest mammalian predator and obligate carnivore is the mountain lion, Puma concolor. This elusive and wide-ranging predator occupies a...
Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team
The Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team (IGBST) is an interdisciplinary group of scientists and biologists responsible for long-term monitoring and research efforts on grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE). The team was formed by the Department of the Interior (DOI) in 1973 as a direct result of controversy surrounding the closure of open pit garbage dumps within Yellowstone...