Category: Fish & Wildlife

SRS Researcher Receives Grant to Study White-Nose Syndrome

by Patty Matteson, SRS Public Affairs  • 
White-nose syndrome (WNS) has killed more than six million bats over the past decade. WNS is caused by the fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans (Pd). Studies show that bats eat enough insect pests to save the U.S. corn industry more than $1 billion a year in crop damage and pesticide costs, and more than $3 billion per…  More 

Monitoring Frog & Toad Populations?

by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Communications  • 
Over the past few decades, scientists have become increasingly concerned about amphibians. “Populations of many frog and toad species have declined,” says U.S. Forest Service research ecologist Katie Greenberg. “The global decline highlights the need to monitor frogs and toads where they live.” Greenberg has been doing just that for 24 years. Since 1994, Greenberg…  More 

Fish Production in Southern Appalachians

by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Communications  • 
Packing on the pounds – or ounces – indicates that fish have what they need to survive and grow. “Fish production is a great way to estimate ecosystem productivity,” says U.S. Forest Service researcher Andy Dolloff. Production refers to how quickly fish gain weight and grow in size. “Production is a function of how many…  More 

Prescribed Fire and Snags in Shortleaf Pine Woodlands

by Jennifer Moore Myers, SRS Science Communications  • 
“I’ve spent years working in these shortleaf pine woodlands and always wondered about the availability of snags, especially given their importance to bats,” says U.S. Forest Service research wildlife biologist Roger W. Perry. Perry is talking about 250,000 acres on the Ouachita National Forest in Arkansas and Oklahoma. Efforts to restore shortleaf pine woodlands have…  More 

Generalist No More

by Kiley Coates, SRS Science Communications Intern  • 
Although the Yazoo Darter (Etheostoma raneyi) was previously thought to be a habitat generalist able to thrive in a variety of conditions, U.S. Forest Service scientists Kenneth Sterling and Melvin Warren guessed differently. “Literature suggested the darter was a generalist, but details at small spatial scales were lacking for its sand-bottom stream habitat in the…  More 

Frogs, Toads, and Ephemeral Wetlands

by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Communications  • 
When ephemeral wetlands swell with water, frogs and toads congregate to breed and lay their eggs,which hatch into tadpoles. “That’s risky business,” says U.S. Forest Service research ecologist Katie Greenberg. “Wetlands could dry before tadpoles metamorphose into juveniles.” If ephemeral wetlands dry out before the tadpoles develop lungs and become froglets or toadlets, an entire…  More 

BioBlitz in Macon County

by Stephanie Laseter, R8-SRS Liaison  • 
On May 25th, fourth graders from South Macon Elementary School in Macon County, North Carolina, went beyond the playground to tally species right in their own school grounds. The BioBlitz was organized by Jason Love, site manager for the Coweeta Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) program, and Jennifer Love, Macon County STEM coordinator, with help…  More 

Celebrating Pollinator Week 2017

by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Communications  • 
On June 22, 2017, a handful of people braved the rain at the U.S. Forest Service Southern Research Station to celebrate National Pollinator Week. National Pollinator Week was designated by a unanimous U.S. Senate resolution in 2007. The week recognizes pollinators and their importance to natural ecosystems and agriculture. Some pollinator species have drastically declined.…  More 

Giant Stag Beetles

by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Communications  • 
Up to 30 percent of all forest insect species depend on wood that is dead or dying. “Such species are among the most threatened insects in Europe,” says U.S. Forest Service scientist Michael Ulyshen. “However, very little is known about their diversity or conservation status in North America.” In the U.S., the giant stag beetle…  More 

Protecting White-Tailed Deer Fawns

by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Communications  • 
Wild animals are often immersed in a mortal struggle. For white-tailed deer fawns, the struggle entails hiding from predators like coyotes. “Fawns are highly vulnerable to coyote predation,” says John Kilgo. Kilgo is a research wildlife biologist at the U.S. Forest Service, and he recently coauthored a study about coyotes, fawns, and land cover. Coyotes…  More