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Welcome to Ecosystems
The USGS is now aligned around the areas of research identified in the USGS Science Strategy. Ecosystems includes the following programs: Invasive Species Program, Cooperative Research Units, Fisheries: Aquatic and Endangered Resources Program, Terrestrial, Freshwater, and Marine Ecosystems Program, Status & Trends Program, Wildlife: Terrestrial and Endangered Resources Program. USGS Ecosystems programs also highlight cross-discipline research in Microbiology, Genetics & Genomics. |
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Invasive Species Program
The USGS Invasive Species Program provides methodologies and information to address threats to ecological systems and native species due to the introduction and spread of invasive species. |
Cooperative Research Units
The Cooperative Research Unit program was established in 1935 to enhance graduate education in fisheries and wildlife sciences and to facilitate research between natural resource agencies and universities on topics of mutual concern. Today, there are 40 Cooperative Research Units in 38 states. Each unit is a partnership among the U.S. Geological Survey, a State natural resource agency, a host university, and the Wildlife Management Institute. |
Fisheries: Aquatic and Endangered Resources Program
The Fisheries: Aquatic and Endangered Resources Program (FAER) focuses on the study of aquatic organisms and aquatic habitats from the molecular genetics level to species and population interactions with the environment. Aquatic pathogens, invertebrates, mussels, fishes, and the unique role of aquatic communities in ecosystems are investigated to provide scientific information to natural resource managers and decision makers. |
Terrestrial, Freshwater, and Marine Ecosystems Program
Studies conducted by USGS Terrestrial, Freshwater, and Marine Ecosystems scientists provide the basic science needed to understand the factors that control ecosystem structure, function, dynamics, condition, and provision of goods and services in context of linkages and interactions with the surrounding landscape. This information is used to model and predict future changes to ecosystems, how external stressors such as land use change and climate change will affect ecosystem resiliency, and to develop management alternatives in the face of stressors. Ecosystem science is also used to restore degraded landscapes and freshwater systems, sustain plants and animals, and find means to adapt management to global change. |
Status & Trends Program
The Status and Trends of Biological Resources Program monitors, analyzes and reports on the status and trends Nation’s living resources and the habitats on which they depend. To protect and conserve these resources entrusted to their care, land and resource managers must first understand the condition of and threats to those resources. |
Wildlife: Terrestrial and Endangered Resources Program
USGS scientists supported by the Wildlife Program conduct research on diverse natural resource topics involving wildlife and their habitat, marine mammals, threatened and endangered species, pollinators and plants; research includes, for example wildlife disease, genetics, basic life history and changing landscapes. Scientists provide technical support and tools for applications like structured decision making. |
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Featured Topic
"North Pole Wolf" Emails Locations to Researchers - (USGS Press Release) -
Thanks to a satellite collar, two innovative scientists, and a blog, people can follow the travels of Brutus, the “North Pole wolf” as he leads his pack through the long arctic winter.
In July the scientists, one from the United States, the other from Canada, put the satellite collar on Brutus, the leader of his wolf pack, on remote Ellesmere Island, only 600 miles from the North Pole. Their goal – to finally find out what these “North Pole wolves” do in the long, dark days of winter in one of the harshest areas of the world.
Read the full USGS Press Release >>
View the list of all Featured Topics >>
New Web Site on White-Nose Syndrome in Bats- In response to growing demand for publicly available information on WNS, the USGS Fort Collins Science Center recently developed and launched a Web site entitled, White-Nose Syndrome Threatens the Survival of Hibernating Bats in North America. The site includes current information about the history, suspected dynamics, and possible implications of the disease, highlighting the role of the USGS in response to this wildlife crisis.
For additional resources on White-Nose Syndrome (WNS), please visit the Wildlife: Terrestrial & Endangered Resources Program's White-Nose Syndrome Page >>
View the list of all Featured Topics >>
State of the Birds 2011: A Bird’s-Eye View of How Birds Use the Nation’s Public Lands - The 2011 State of the Birds Report provides the nation’s first assessment of birds on public lands and waters. In a unique application of data, the science behind this report allows state and federal agencies to determine the value of public lands in conserving American birds. This data demonstrates the tremendous potential for these agencies to help sustain the diversity and abundance of the nation’s birdlife. The National Gap Analysis Program at the University of Idaho, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the U.S. Geological Survey, and a group of expert scientists from other federal and state agencies and nonprofit groups provided scientific analysis and support for this year’s report. Read more about the science behind this report (.pdf) >>
View the list of all Featured Topics >>
Energy and Wildlife - Learn how the USGS researches wildlife and ecosystems, including impacts from renewable energy, to help managers and industry make decisions that minimize conflicts between renewable energy and ecosystems. Energy and Wildlife >>
View the list of all Featured Topics >>
Microbiology
U.S. Geological Survey microbiology spans the mission areas and includes research in fish and wildlife health disease, geomicrobiology, ecosystems function, climate change, water quality for drinking and in recreation, bioremediation, nanotechnology, enery and geographic patterns of microbial distribution.
Genetics & Genomics
USGS geneticists work to provide answers to questions of genetics for use in making sound management decisions on fish and wildlife, including their habitat and conservation.
Ecosystems Studies
Priority Ecosystems Science (PES) provides science in support of adaptive management of ecosystems that have near-term societal concern and significant long-term societal value. Learn More >>
Featured Links
Avian Influenza
Gap Analysis Program (GAP)Global Change Research Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) National Climate Change and Wildlife Science Center Nonindigenous Aquatic Species North American Breeding Bird Survey
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| Ecosystem Studies |
Priority Ecosystems Science (PES) provides science in support of adaptive management of ecosystems that have near-term societal concern and significant long-term societal value.
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| Science Center Locations |
The USGS BRD has science and technology centers located throughout the United States. Typically, activities are closely aligned with the diversity of biological resources near each center.
Science center researchers represent a broad mix of scientific disciplines. Areas of expertise include aquatic systems (toxic material and other stressors), botany, ecosystem analysis and modeling, fishery chemistry and management, forest management, genetics, invertebrate zoology, museum curation, nutrition, phenology, statistical design and analysis, taxonomy and systematics, toxicology, urban ecology, and wildlife habitat evaluation. |
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USGS Ecosystems Mission Area
National Headquarters Reston, VA
National Climate Change and Wildlife Science Center (NCCWSC) (Reston, VA)
Center for Biological Informatics (CBI - Denver, CO)
USA National Phenology Network (Tucson, AZ)
Genetics and Genomics (Reston, VA)
Microbiology (Reston, VA)
Science Support Partnership - SSP (Reston, VA) |
Western Region
Alaska Science Center (ASC, Anchorage)
Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center (FRESC, Corvallis)
Southwest Biological Science Center (SBSC, Flagstaff)
Pacific Island Ecosystems Research Center (PIERC, Honolulu)
Western Ecological Research Center (WERC, Sacramento)
Western Fisheries Research Center (WFRC, Seattle) |
Central Region
Columbia Environmental Research Center (CERC, Columbia)
Fort Collins Science Center (FORT, Ft. Collins)
National Wetlands Research Center (NWRC, Lafayette)
Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center (NPWRC, Jamestown)
Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center (NRMSC, Bozeman) |
Eastern Region
Southeast Ecological Science Center (SESC, Gainesville)
Great Lakes Science Center (GLSC, Ann Arbor)
Leetown Science Center (LSC, Kearneysville)
National Wildlife Health Center (NWHC, Madison)
Patuxent Wildlife Research Center (PWRC, Laurel)
Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center (UMESC, LaCrosse) |
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