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Ecosystems Mission Area

The USGS Ecosystems Mission Area provides science to help America achieve sustainable management and conservation of biological resources in wild and urban spaces, and places in between.

News

U.S. Geological Survey and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: A Conservation Orchestra for the Melodies of Hakalau Forest

U.S. Geological Survey and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: A Conservation Orchestra for the Melodies of Hakalau Forest

Friday's Findings - April 26, 2024

Friday's Findings - April 26, 2024

Wind Energy and Wildlife: We can Have Both

Wind Energy and Wildlife: We can Have Both

Publications

Adult green sturgeon (Acipenser medirostris) movements in the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta, California, December 2020–January 2023

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers American River Watershed Common Features project (ACRF) seeks to reduce flood risk for the City of Sacramento, California, and surrounding areas. The project includes levee-remediation measures to address seepage, stability, erosion, and height concerns as well as the widening of the Sacramento Weir and Bypass. The project reach is in the lower extent of the Sacram
Authors
Amy C. Hansen, Summer M. Burdick, Ryan P. Johnson, Robert D. Chase, Michael J. Thomas

Ecological inferences on invasive carp survival using hydrodynamics and egg drift models

Bighead carp (Hypophthalmichthys nobilis), silver carp (H. molitrix), black carp (Mylopharyngodon piceus), and grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella), are invasive species in North America. However, they hold significant economic importance as food sources in China. The drifting stage of carp eggs has received great attention because egg survival rate is strongly affected by river hydrodynamics. In
Authors
Ruichen Xu, Duane Chapman, Caroline M. Elliott, Bruce Call, Robert B. Jacobson, Binbin Yang

First documentation of grass carp spawning in Lake Erie’s Central Basin

Grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) are non-indigenous to North America having been translocated to the United States in the 1960s as a potential non-chemical solution for nuisance aquatic vegetation. Reproductively viable grass carp now exist in many watersheds in the United States. In the Great Lakes basin, grass carp were first discovered in the 1980s with direct confirmation of successful rep
Authors
Corbin David Hilling, Adam J. Landry, James Roberts, Nathan Thompson, Catherine A. Richter, Ryan E. Brown, Christine M. Mayer, Song S. Qian

Science

2022 Year in Review

This has been another outstanding year for the CRU Program, and I am pleased to provide you with our 2022 Year in Review report. Highlights of this past year include the creation of our 42nd unit at Michigan State University and the completion of hiring activities for 37 new unit scientists in 31 States. In this report, you will learn more about the spectacular accomplishments of our students...
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2022 Year in Review

This has been another outstanding year for the CRU Program, and I am pleased to provide you with our 2022 Year in Review report. Highlights of this past year include the creation of our 42nd unit at Michigan State University and the completion of hiring activities for 37 new unit scientists in 31 States. In this report, you will learn more about the spectacular accomplishments of our students...
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Human-Related Compounds in Water Sources in the Grand Canyon Help Identify Water Flow Pathways and Highlight Potential Water Quality Changes

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists investigated the movement of human-generated chemicals, such as pharmaceuticals and per- and polyfluorinated substances (PFAS), in groundwater along the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. This research led to a better understanding of the movement of wastewater into groundwater, of complex underground flow patterns, and of chemicals present in springs near...
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Human-Related Compounds in Water Sources in the Grand Canyon Help Identify Water Flow Pathways and Highlight Potential Water Quality Changes

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists investigated the movement of human-generated chemicals, such as pharmaceuticals and per- and polyfluorinated substances (PFAS), in groundwater along the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. This research led to a better understanding of the movement of wastewater into groundwater, of complex underground flow patterns, and of chemicals present in springs near...
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Understanding the Effects of Stormwater Management Practices on Water Quality and Flow

Urban development can have detrimental impacts on streams including altering hydrology, increasing nutrient, sediment, and pollutant loadings, and degrading biological integrity. Stormwater Best Management Practices (BMPs) can be used to mitigate the effects of urban development by retaining large volumes of stormwater runoff and treating runoff to remove pollutants. This project focuses on...
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Understanding the Effects of Stormwater Management Practices on Water Quality and Flow

Urban development can have detrimental impacts on streams including altering hydrology, increasing nutrient, sediment, and pollutant loadings, and degrading biological integrity. Stormwater Best Management Practices (BMPs) can be used to mitigate the effects of urban development by retaining large volumes of stormwater runoff and treating runoff to remove pollutants. This project focuses on...
Learn More