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Species Composition and Trophic Structure of Insect Communities in Texas Prairies

This research project is about species composition and trophic structure of the insect community were compared between coastal and central prairies of Texas. Species diversity was higher in the coastal prairie, but average richness per habitat and among-habitat diversity were greater in the central prairie. Insect diversity increased as vertical More...

  • Image of coastal prairie

Pollinators

The global declines in many kinds of pollinator species could potentially impact the global food supply, as many plants depend upon specific pollinators to reproduce. The Web site of the NBII Pollinators Project provides access to information about the biology, ecology, conservation status, and threats to native pollinators, pollinator-dependent More...

  • animation of a hummingbird pollinating a flower

Lyme Disease and Vector-Borne Pathogen Studies

Dr. Howard Ginsberg is studying the transmission of Lyme disease spirochetes in nature using ecological studies of ticks and their vertebrate hosts, and models of spirochete transmission dynamics. Environmental factors that influence tick populations apparently operate on a regional scale. Distribution of vertebrate hosts plays a role in tick More...

  • Image of ticks as lyme disease vectors.

Management and Research Applications of Long-Range Surveillance Radar Data for Birds, Bats, and Flying Insects

This publication is intended to provide a summary of long-range surveillance radar technology and applications of these data to questions about movement patterns of birds and other flying wildlife based on publications that provide more detailed information (Buurma, 1995; Gauthreaux and Belser, 2003a, b; Gauthreaux and others, 2003; Diehl and More...

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Bees Are Not Optional

This sound recording is an interview with USGS scientist Sam Droege about the tremendous importance of native bees and pollinators in general. The interview was held during the 2009 Pollinator Week.

  • A male Agapostomen splendens: A bee of sandy areas also known as the

Preliminary review of adaptation options for climate-sensitive ecosystems and resources - A Report by the U.S. Climate Change Science Program and the Subcommittee on Global Change Research

This report provides a preliminary review of adaptation options for climate-sensitive ecosystems and resources in the United States. The term "adaptation" in this document refers to adjustments in human social systems (e.g., management) in response to climate stimuli and their effects. Since management always occurs in the context of desired More...

  • cover image of publication

Mojave Desert Science Symposium

This link is to the home page for the Mojave Desert Science Symposium. This historic forum brought together researchers and managers to examine the status of scientific knowledge about the Mojave Desert. The meeting was hosted by the U.S. Geological Survey/Biological Resources Division, Western Ecological Research Center at the University of More...

  • Image of the Mojave Desert

It's in the Air: The Ecological Effects of Nitrogen Deposition in Rocky Mountain National Park

Encroaching development, overuse, and air- and waterborne contaminants from outside park boundaries are causing noticeable changes to water quality and ecosystem health and functioning. The Front Range metropolitan area from Fort Collins south to Colorado Springs includes 75 percent of Colorado's population and its most productive agricultural More...

  • Photo of lead investigator Dr. Jill Baron preparing to extract water from a soil lysimeter

National Park Service Inventory and Monitoring Program

This website represents National Park Service Inventory and Monitoring Program's goal to collect, organize, and make available natural resource data and to contribute to the Service's institutional knowledge. Its goals are to inventory the natural resources under National Park Service stewardship to determine their nature and status; monitor park More...

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Ant invasions of mamane-naio forest at high elevations on Mauna Kea (Palila Restoration Project)

Ants are not native to Hawaii and are a significant threat to endemic insects which have not evolved in their presence. This resource is a study of the palila, an endangered honeycreeper that inhabits the dry subalpine slopes of Mauna Kea. The ants are a threat because they are potential predators of insects upon which the Palila feed.

  • Image of Argentine ant queen

Caterpillars of Pacific Northwest Forests and Woodlands

Caterpillars of Pacific Northwest Forests and Woods are well represented among the total number of insects. The caterpillar is the immature stage of moths and butterflies that are abundant on certain plants at various times of the year. This booklet is a field guide with keys to the identification of caterpillars commonly found in forests and More...

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Deep Water Science Project, Great Lakes

The USGS Great Lakes Science Center (GLSC) has a long history of significant contributions to the understanding of aquatic resources in the Great The main focus of the Center's research is on the long-term dynamics of native and non-native aquatic species and the sustainability of Great Lakes fisheries. Since the Center was established, the fish More...

  • Bottom trawl fish sampling