Invasive Species Program

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More than 6,500 nonindigenous species are now established in the United States, posing risks to native plants, animals, microorganisms, valued ecosystems, and human and wildlife health. In fact, the current annual environmental, economic, and health-related costs of invasive species exceed those of all other natural disasters combined.

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Nonindigenous Aquatic Species (NAS) Database

Nonindigenous Aquatic Species (NAS) Database

The NAS database is a central repository for spatially referenced biogeographic accounts of introduced aquatic species. The program provides scientific reports, online/realtime queries, spatial data sets, distribution maps, and general in

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Robotic DNA Samplers to Detect Invasive Species

Robotic DNA Samplers to Detect Invasive Species

USGS researchers and their collaborators demonstrated the efficacy of using robotic environmental DNA samplers.

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USGS scientists study hundreds of invasive species.

Invasive Animals

Invasive Pathogens

Invasive Plants

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News

Date published: December 11, 2020

Fort Collins Science Center Ecologist Interviewed for National Geographic, NPR

Research ecologist Dr. Amy Yackel Adams was recently interviewed on the invasive tegu lizard for National Geographic and NPR’s Here & Now

Date published: August 10, 2020

RAMPS Newsletter - Summer 2020 Edition

This season's edition of the Restoration Assessment and Monitoring Program for the Southwest Newsletter contains recent program highlights including research updates, new projects, field updates and more.

To subscribe to our newsletter, please visit: ...

Date published: July 22, 2020

RESEARCH BRIEF: RestoreNet Report Card

RestoreNet is a networked ecological experiment testing restoration treatments across the arid Southwest. Seven experimental sites were installed in the Summer of 2018 on the rangelands of Northern Arizona. The experiments tested seed mixes with various treatments to increase revegetation success (see photos above). These are the results after the first year.

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Publications

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Year Published: 2017

Satellite-tagged osprey nearly sets longevity record and productivity response to initial captures

We equipped adult Ospreys (Pandion haliaetus) from 24 nests in Oregon/Washington with satellite-tracked battery-powered radios, known as platform transmitter terminals (PTTs), in 1996–1999. These Ospreys from the lower Columbia River (river miles 76–286), and the Willamette Valley in western Oregon were part of a larger study of Osprey fall...

Henny, Charles J.; Martell, Mark S.
Henny, C.J., Martell, M., 2017, Satellite-tagged osprey nearly sets longevity record and productivity response to initial captures: Journal of Raptor Research, v. 51, no. 2, p. 180-183, https://doi.org/10.3356/JRR-16-71.1.

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Year Published: 2017

Veligers of the invasive Asian clam Corbicula fluminea in the Columbia River Basin: Broadscale distribution, abundance, and ecological associations

The invasive Asian clam Corbicula fluminea was introduced to North America in the 1930s and now inhabits most regions of the conterminous United States; however, the distribution and ecology of C. fluminea in the Columbia River Basin is poorly understood. During 2013 and 2014, 5 Columbia-Snake River reservoirs were sampled monthly from May through...

Hassett, Whitney; Bollens, Stephen M.; Counihan, Timothy D.; Rollwagen-Bollens, Gretchen; Zimmerman, Julie; Emerson, Joshua E.
Hassett, W., S.M. Bollens, T.D. Counihan, G. Rollwagen-Bollens, J. Zimmerman, S. Katz, and J. Emerson. 2017. Veligers of the invasive Asian clam Corbicula fluminea in the Columbia River Basin: broadscale distribution, abundance, and ecological associations. Lake Reservoir Manage.

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Year Published: 2017

Early detection monitoring for larval dreissenid mussels: How much plankton sampling is enough?

The development of quagga and zebra mussel (dreissenids) monitoring programs in the Pacific Northwest provides a unique opportunity to evaluate a regional invasive species detection effort early in its development. Recent studies suggest that the ecological and economic costs of a dreissenid infestation in the Pacific Northwest of the USA would be...

Counihan, Timothy D.; Bollens, Stephen M.
Counihan, T.D., and S.M. Bollens. Early detection monitoring for larval dreissenid mussels: how much plankton sampling is enough? Environ. Monit. Assess. 189: 98. DOI: 10.1007/s10661-016-5737-x.