USGS EcoNews - Vol. 2 | Issue 4
Welcome to EcoNews! In this edition we highlight the first ever USGS Landscape Science Strategy, and research helping in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, supporting managers planning for impacts of climate change, assessing the effects of utility-scale solar energy projects, improving the understanding of anticoagulant rodenticide exposure and effects to wild birds, and more!
USGS-Led Study Helps in the Fight Against the Coronavirus Pandemic
With few additional targeted tests and non-invasive surveys, public health agencies can better estimate disease occurrence and trends, changes in transmission, rates of hospitalization and death and effectiveness of vaccines and other control measures.
Greater Yellowstone Area expected to become warmer, drier
Temperature significantly increased and snowfall decreased in the iconic Greater Yellowstone Area since 1950 because of climate change, and these trends will likely continue through the rest of the century, according to a climate report published today.
The Gemini Solar Project
The United States is developing renewable energy resources, especially solar, at a rapid rate. Although renewable energy development is widely perceived by the public as “green technology,” construction, operation, maintenance, and eventual decommissioning of facilities all have known and potential negative impacts to natural resources, including plant communities and wildlife. This is especially true in the fragile ecosystems of the Desert Southwest where large-scale solar energy development is occurring. Research on the effects of utility-scale solar energy facilities is necessary to maximize the societal benefits of renewable energy while minimizing negative effects on the environment. U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists are conducting research to help address the renewable energy information needs of resource managers like the Bureau of Land Management.
USGS Landscape Science Strategy
Science informing decision making on public lands and across all of our Nation’s landscapes.
Scientists Provide an Understanding of Anticoagulant Rodenticide Exposure in Non-Target Bird Species
U.S. Geological Survey scientists and their partners utilize laboratory and field studies and existing information to improve understanding of anticoagulant rodenticide exposure and effects to wild birds.
When Resistance is Futile, New Paper Advises RAD Range of Conservation Options
A new paper in Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment presents a set of guiding principles for applying a “RAD” strategy – a framework that involves either resisting, accepting or directing ecosystem changes.
Project Spotlight: Pacific Islands CASC Supports Drought Community of Practice in Hawai’i
The Pacific Drought Knowledge Exchange, supported by the Pacific Islands CASC, connects island resource managers with localized climate data to create a regional drought community with strong relationships between scientists and managers.
Translocating Florida scrub-jays to bolster the threatened species’ population
The Florida Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit (Florida CRU), a program in the Ecosystems Mission Area at the U.S. Geological Survey, is collaborating with state and federal agencies to assess the success of translocating Florida scrub-jays to bolster the threatened species’ population.
Webinar Series - Friday's Findings
Friday's Findings is a public webinar series hosted by the USGS Ecosystems Mission Area. These half hour webinars are meant to provide listeners an overview of the science topic and chance to ask questions. We hope to offer our audience an opportunity to discover the Ecosystems science capacity within the USGS.
USGS Ecosystem Research
The U.S. Geological Survey is the science research agency for the U.S. Department of the Interior. We conduct research on the natural hazards that threaten lives and livelihoods around the country. We also monitor the water, energy, minerals and other natural resources we rely on; the health of our ecosystems and environment; and the impacts of climate and land-use change. We depend on energetic,…