Tag: Endangered species

Tri-colored bats & white-nose syndrome

by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Communications  • 
The only mammal that truly flies, bats are celebrated for many reasons. Including their looks. “Tri-colored bats are the cutest little things,” says Susan Loeb of the USDA Forest Service. “They’re tiny – they weigh less than a quarter of an ounce. And each one of their hairs has three colors on it: yellow, black,…  More 

Pondberry needs light to thrive

by Virginia McDaniel, Science Writer  • 
  Pondberry (Lindera melissifolia) can tolerate deep shade and flooded soil – conditions that would kill many plants. However, the endangered shrub prefers more light and less flooding, as a team of USDA Forest Service researchers led by Ted Leininger shows. Leininger and colleagues have conducted several pondberry studies at the Flooding Research Facility on…  More 

Electrofishing for Crayfish

by Megan Leinenbach, SRS Science Communications Intern  • 
Since its origin, more than 40,000 years ago, fishing has taken a variety of forms — from spearing to hook-and-line fishing. In the 1960s, scientists began using a method called “electrofishing” to study aquatic populations. In a study published in the North American Journal of Fisheries Management, USDA Forest Service scientist Zanethia Barnett researched the…  More 

One Treatment Does Not Fit All Sizes

by Jesse Brewer, SRS Science Communications Intern  • 
Bats are important components of healthy forests and provide critical ecological services across numerous different ecosystems. For decades, bat populations throughout the southern U.S. have been declining due to habitat disturbance and loss. USDA Forest Service scientist Susan Loeb contributed to two recent publications to address this issue, suggesting ways to improve bat management practices…  More 

Freshwater Fishes of North America, Volume 2

by Kim Crider, SRS Science Communications  • 
The highly anticipated second volume of Freshwater Fishes of North America was just published by Johns Hopkins University Press. This volume was edited by USDA Forest Service fisheries research scientist Mel Warren and four other editors. Warren also contributed to seven of the book’s 35 chapters. “We are indebted to a large community of ichthyologists,…  More 

Detecting the Pathogen That Stalks the Endangered Florida Torreya

by Kim Crider, SRS Science Communications  • 
Florida torreya (Torreya taxifolia) is a critically endangered conifer tree in swift decline since the 1950s. The torreya fungus (Fusarium torreyae) is currently devastating the remaining Florida torreya population. The fungus forms cankers, or localized dead areas, that damage branch or trunk tissue and eventually kill the trees. In the face of extinction from this…  More 

Darter Conservation

by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Communications  • 
Increasingly, recovery plans for imperiled fish species include raising them in captivity and releasing them in the wild. Crystal Ruble of Conservation Fisheries, Inc, with SRS researchers Ken Sterling and Melvin Warren published a protocol for captive propagation of the Yazoo Darter (Etheostoma raneyi). The researchers also summarize its early life-history. Compared to other darter…  More 

Pondberry Responds to Light Availability and Soil Flooding

by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Communications  • 
Pondberry is endangered, but it can persist through environmental stress. It prefers partial sun but can linger in deep shade for years. It can survive long periods of soil flooding, and even flowers while it’s flooded. “All indications are that this species would benefit from active management,” says Emile Gardiner, a USDA Forest Service research…  More 

Managing Forests to Conserve Bat Populations Affected by White-Nose Syndrome

by Anna Walker, SRS Science Communications Intern  • 
In March 2016, scientists found bats infected with white-nose syndrome (WNS), a fungal disease that’s killed millions of North American bats across the eastern United States, in Washington state, over 1,000 miles from the nearest confirmed infection site in eastern Oklahoma. Because most bat species in the U.S. eat phenomenal numbers of insects, bats are important to agriculture and to forests and…  More