Fisheries: Aquatic and Endangered Resources Program Home, USGS Biology

Biology - Fisheries: Aquatic and Endangered Resources Program

Welcome to the USGS Fisheries: Aquatic and Endangered Resources Program

The Fisheries: Aquatic and Endangered Resources Program (FAER) focuses on the study of aquatic organisms and aquatic habitats. Aquatic invertebrates, mussels, fishes, and their unique aquatic communities are investigated to provide scientific information to natural resource managers and decision makers.

Endangered species and those that are imperiled receive special research interest. Research on species diversity, life history, health and diseases, aquatic community ecology, and habitat requirements of fish and other aquatic organisms supports the management, conservation, and restoration of our Nation's aquatic resources.

Research Highlight

American Fisheries Society Imperiled Freshwater and Diadromous Fishes of North America

map graphic This website provides access to the list of imperiled freshwater and diadromous fishes of North America as determined by the 2008 American Fisheries Society (AFS) Endangered Species Committee (ESC) on Fishes. At this website, one can view lists of imperiled fishes by freshwater ecoregion, by state or province boundary, and plot distributions of imperiled fishes by ecoregion or political boundaries. Go to the American Fisheries Society Imperiled Freshwater and Diadromous Fishes of North America website for more information and access to the imperiled freshwater and diadromous fishes.

In the Spotlight

image of a freshwater mussel (Family Unionidae) Developing Water Quality Standards for Recovery of Imperiled Freshwater Mussels (Family Unionidae) - Many factors are cited in the decline of freshwater mussel (Family Unionidae) populations in North America and for the listing of greater than 70% of native unionid species as endangered, threatened, or of special concern. Habitat alteration, introduction of exotic species, over-utilization, disease, predation and pollution are considered causal or contributing factors in many areas of the United States. Learn More >>

Partnership in Action

USGS is one of the coalition members in the National Fish Habitat Action Plan (NFHAP), which brings together Federal and State agencies, Native American Tribes and Alaskan Natives, and sport fishing and conservation groups to collaborate on fish habitat conservation and restoration around the country.
To learn more about National Fish Habitat Action Plan visit its Web site at http://www.fishhabitat.org.

Additional Resources

For a variety of resources on fish and other aquatic species from government agencies, academic institutions, non-governmental organizations and private industry visit the site of the Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Node of the National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII).

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Page Last Modified: Friday, 12-Jun-2009 09:54:22 MDT