U.S. Geological Survey scientists are using new and creative ways to help protect endangered and at-risk species and the ecosystems they — and humans — depend on for survival. Each year, they conduct research and monitoring on an average of 150 threatened, endangered or candidate species. Now, in partnership with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, USGS is featuring some of that groundbreaking research in a special volume of the USFWS Endangered Species Bulletin.

Available at http://www.fws.gov/Endangered/bulletin/2008/bulletin_fall2008.pdf, the bulletin contains highlights of the following research, and more:

• DNA testing to track grizzly-bear movement and habitats.
  
• Monitoring methods resulting in discovery of new freshwater habitats that endangered sea turtles use for survival in Everglades National Park.
  
• Techniques to restore critically endangered freshwater mussels to their native habitats by raising them in laboratories and then releasing them into the wild.
  
• Innovative research to reduce the threats and restore the habitats of unique, endangered, and threatened plant species existing only on the Channel Islands.
  

“Science is the best tool we have for understanding what plants and animals need to survive — and human survival directly depends on the well-being of plants and animals,” said Rachel Muir, an imperiled-species coordinator with USGS. “Federal science that is conducted across biology, geology, geographic and water sciences, the social sciences and others is essential for the United States and the world to be able to continue to protect our biological heritage.”

To read more about the research USGS is conducting related to imperiled species go to http://biology.usgs.gov/wter/imperiled.html.

To hear more about this new publication and USGS endangered-species research, listen to an audio interview with Rachel Muir at http://gallery.usgs.gov/audio/misc/20090108_Muir.mp3.

For additional information, contact Rachel Muir at (703) 648-5114, rachel_muir@usgs.gov.