U.S. Geological Survey Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units Program—2016–2017 Research Abstracts

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has several strategic goals that focus its efforts on serving the American people. The USGS Ecosystems Mission Area has responsibility for the following objectives under the strategic goal of “Science to Manage and Sustain Resources for Thriving Economies and Healthy Ecosystems”:

• Understand, model, and predict change in natural systems
• Conserve and protect wildlife and fish species and their habitats
• Reduce or eliminate the threat of invasive species and wildlife disease

This report provides abstracts of the majority of ongoing research investigations of the USGS Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units program and is intended to complement the 2016 Cooperative Research Units Program Year in Review Circular 1424 (https://doi.org/10.3133/cir1424). The report is organized by the following major science themes that contribute to the objectives of the USGS:

• Advanced Technologies
• Climate Science
• Decision Science
• Ecological Flows
• Ecosystem Services
• Endangered Species Conservation, Recovery, and Proactive Strategies
• Energy
• Human Dimensions
• Invasive Species
• Landscape Ecology
• Species of Greatest Conservation Need
• Species Population, Habitat, and Harvest Management
• Wildlife Health and Disease