Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

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

Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funds stoke wildland fire science investments

Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funds stoke wildland fire science investments

U.S. Geological Survey and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Joint News Release: Native forest bird population declines within the Big Island National Wildlife Refuge Complex 

U.S. Geological Survey and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Joint News Release: Native forest bird population declines within the Big Island National Wildlife Refuge Complex 

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

Publications

Abundance of Long-billed Curlews on military lands in the Columbia Basin

Long-billed Curlews (Numenius americanus) are declining throughout North America, and the loss of grassland breeding habitat is one of the primary threats to the species. Intermountain West, in particular, has been identified as the most important region in North America for breeding curlews. Nevertheless, the density and abundance of Long-billed Curlews in this region is not well understood. Land
Authors
Sharon Poessel, Elise Elliott-Smith, Sean M. Murphy, Susan M Haig, Adam E. Duerr, Todd E. Katzner

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

Global mercury concentrations in biota: Their use as a basis for a global biomonitoring framework

An important provision of the Minamata Convention on Mercury is to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the adopted measures and its implementation. Here, we describe for the first time currently available biotic mercury (Hg) data on a global scale to improve the understanding of global efforts to reduce the impact of Hg pollution on people and the environment. Data from the peer-reviewed lit
Authors
David C. Evers, Josh T. Ackerman, Staffan Åkerblom, Dominique Bally, Niladri Basu, Kevin Bishop, Nathalie Bodin, Hans Fredrik Veitberg Braaten, Mark Burton, Paco Bustamante, Celia Y. Chen, John Chételat, Linroy Christian, Rune Dietz, Paul Drevnick, Collin Eagles-Smith, Luis Fernandez, Neil Hammerschlag, Mireille Harmelin-Vivien, Agustin Harte, Eva Kruemmel, Jose Lailson-Brito, Gabriella Medina, Cesar Rodriguez, Iain Stenhouse, Elsie M. Sunderland, Akinori Takeuchi, Timothy Tear, Claudia Vega, Simon Wilson, Pianpian Wu

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...
link

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...
Learn More

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...
link

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...
Learn More

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...
link

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