Wildlife and Terrestrial Species
Wildlife and Terrestrial Species
We provide rigorous and unbiased information on migratory birds, terrestrial and marine mammals, amphibians and reptiles, native plants, threatened and endangered species, wildlife disease, and on wildlife issues resulting from human activities. Our science contributes toward a more complete understanding of the Nation’s ecosystems and landscapes.
Species We Study
Species We Study
Healthy wildlife populations sustain communities across the Nation, and maintaining ecosystems thriving with biodiversity ensures these resources are available for generations to come.
Outstanding in the Field
Outstanding in the Field
In this episode we head to southern Florida to learn about one of North America’s most misunderstood - yet threatened - mammals: bats
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Tracking Data for Spectacled Eiders (Somateria fischeri)
Available here are tracking data of Spectacled Eider, a sea duck species that breeds only in Alaska and Russia and spends the winter exclusively in the Bering Sea. The Alaska breeding population is listed as threatened under provisions of the Endangered Species Act. These data were collected to better understand the winter distribution in the Bering Sea and locate birds for winter aerial surveys...
Decision-support tool for managing endangered species in the face of uncertainty
Along the Santa Clara River in California, populations of the federally and state-listed Least Bell's Vireo ( Vireo bellii pusillus ) are recovering from near extirpation. Habitat protection and restoration, as well as reducing brood parasitism by Brown-headed Cowbirds ( Molothrus ater ), are thought to be the primary drivers of this recovery. The challenge going forward is to find the right...
Effects of Saltwater Intrusion on Anuran Occupancy in Big Thicket National Preserve, Texas
WARC researchers sampled anuran populations at sites within Big Thicket National Preserve to explore saltwater intrusion on these populations.
Acoustic Monitoring for Two Rare Frog Species in Northwest Louisiana
WARC researchers are using automated recording units to monitor southern crawfish frogs and Strecker's chorus frogs in Louisiana.
Amphibian Research and Occupancy Modeling in the South-Central Region of the Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative (ARMI)
In response to growing public concerns about this loss of biodiversity, the U.S. Congress funded the Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative (ARMI), a national program coordinated by the U.S. Geological Survey.
A is for Amphibian
On April 26th, 2021, Department of Interior Secretary Deb Haaland declared May 2 - 8, 2021 as Amphibain Week! This is in In recognition of the vital importance of amphibians (frogs, toads, and salamanders) to the Nation’s public and private lands. Did you know that the USGS Ecosystems Mission Area is the biological research arm of the U.S. Department of the Interior? USGS Ecosystems Mission Area...
Interaction of Environmental Stressors and Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) Pathogen Loads on Survival of Green Frogs (Lithobates clamitans)
The U.S. Geological Survey Amphibian Research Monitoring Initiative (ARMI) is using a combination of swabbing, non-lethal tissue sampling, soil and water sampling, and collection of a variety of other environmental variables to determine the relationships between the prevalence and pathogen load of Bd infection and environmental stressors on green treefrog survival.
Alligator Snapping Turtle (Macrochelys temminckii) Research in Louisiana in Support of the Species Status Assessment and Listing Decision by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
WARC researchers are investigating individual movement, growth, and population dynamics of alligator snapping turtles in a southwest Louisiana creek.
Capture-Mark-Recapture of Treefrogs at Bayou Teche National Wildlife Refuge
WARC researchers are gathering amphibian data to better understand the impact of natural disasters on treefrog populations and examine post-event processes.
Monitoring Birds in National Parks of the Gulf Coast Network
The Challenge: Avian monitoring within the Gulf Coast Network of the National Park Service is challenged to provide valid quantitative data on bird populations within park boundaries with limited financial input. Thus, citizen science (volunteer) bird monitoring has been proposed to achieve reliable estimates of bird populations and to assess the effects of habitat change and temporal dynamics of...
Bat Research
White-nose syndrome (WNS) caused by the fungal pathogen Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd) has decimated hibernating bat populations across North America since it emerged 10 years ago in New York. As Pd has spread across North America, infection dynamics and mortality from WNS have varied among species and across sites. The mechanisms behind vulnerability of species across the current and expanding...
A continental-scale study of acoustic phenology to improve population monitoring and inform management of hibernating bats
Bat Research Research collaboration: Winifred Frick (Bat Conservation International), Theodore Weller (U.S. Forest Service), Wayne Thogmartin (UMESC), Craig Willis (University of Winnipeg), and Brian Reichert (FORT) White-nose Syndrome (WNS) has caused severe declines in bat populations over the past 10 years and colony sizes at winter hibernacula have decreased on average by >90% for three...