Threats

In addition to the direct effects of sea ice loss on walrus ( Odobenus rosmarus divergens ) and polar bears ( Ursus maritimus ) that use ice as a platform, the decline of Arctic sea ice is predicted to promote a fundamental ecosystem shift from benthic animals that forage on the sea floor to pelagic animals that forage near the sea surface.

High latitude ecosystems are among the most vulnerable to long-term climate change, yet continuous, multidecadal indicators by which to gauge effects on biology are scarce, especially in freshwater environments.

Permafrost thaw is leading to a myriad of changes in physical and chemical conditions throughout the Arctic.

Lyme disease is the most prevalent vector-borne disease in North America, with about 300,000 cases per year in the U.S. We are studying transmission of the spirochete that causes this disease among wild animals and the blacklegged tick vectors, to determine why Lyme disease is common in the northeast and northern Midwest but rare in the south, even though blacklegged ticks are present in all of...

Sea Ice Present, Future and Ice Loss and Wildlife

The pesticides 3-trifluoromethyl-4-nitrophenol (TFM) and niclosamide selectively target larval sea lampreys (Petromyzon marinus) because they have a much lower capacity to detoxify these lampricides by forming glucuronide conjugates compared to typical non-target fishes. However, if lampricide uptake overwhelms a fish's detoxification capacity, non-target mortality can result. Non-target mortality...

This study is designed to be a high-throughput alternative to traditional methods of using whole fish assays to screen compounds for toxicity. This approach involves an initial pre-screening of a chemical databank to select molecules possessing characteristics identified as predictive criteria for potential toxicity to the fathead minnow, followed by cytotoxicity screening of selected compounds...

Fish are an important component of marine ecosystems, but relatively little is known of their health, in part because sick and dying fish are difficult to detect.

Initial studies suggest terrestrial Hawaiian plant species may be vulnerable to climate change. However, these models lack information on species-specific traits that affect ecological and evolutionary responses of species to climate change. Research is needed to refine current vulnerability models and apply these to Pacific Islands outside Hawai‘i.

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...

Wildlife issues drive many federal and state land management decisions, either because of litigation or mandates to protect habitat and limit extinction risks. We conduct applied research to meet this need, particularly related to the effects of natural (disease, predation) and anthropogenic (habitat loss, invasive species) stressors on wildlife populations and communities. Research on the effects...

Increases in summer stream temperature as a result of human impacts and climate change may exceed the thermal tolerances of aquatic biota that are adapted to colder environments and climates. The combined effects of humans and climate change are of global concern across the range of coldwater aquatic organisms.