The mission of the Biological Resources Division of the U.S. Geological Survey is to work with others to provide the scientific understanding and technologies needed to support the sound management and conservation of our Nation's biological resources. Fulfilling this mission depends on effectively balancing the immediate need for information to guide management of biological resources with the need for technical assistance and long-range, strategic information to understand and predict emerging patterns and trends in ecological systems. BRD programs were developed to provide the appropriate depth and breadth of objective science to meet the information needs of natural resource managers, who encounter many complex environmental problems driven by an array of biological, physical, social, and economic forces that interact across diverse temporal and spatial scales.
The primary responsibility of the BRD is to assist natural resource and land managers, particularly in the Department of the Interior (DOI), by providing them with sound biological information and with assistance in applying the information to their needs. The primary means of gathering this information is through the use of scientific methods applied to monitoring resources and conducting experiments. Subsequently, pertinent information must be made available to those who must use it to make important natural resource management decisions.
Evaluation of lake sturgeon populations and their habitat in the Detroit River is needed to restore sturgeon to former levels of abundance in this river. Biological and chemical pollutants can have a severe impact on reproduction and recruitment of native species. Scientists at the Great Lakes Science assess the causative factors behind the decline in reproductive output of two native taxa of national interest - lake sturgeon and freshwater unionidae. They determined that an exotic fish, the round goby, preys on lake sturgeon eggs deposited at a sturgeon-spawning reef in the St. Clair River. Also, many sturgeon eggs that survived to hatch produced deformed sac fry - deformities that mirrored those seen in lake trout that carry high body burdens of chemical contaminants. Scientists will assess reproductive success and contaminants found in the sturgeon eggs. Related factors are reducing the reproductive success of unionids in the zebra mussel-infested Huron River and Crane Creek estuary. Populations of unionids in the Huron River suffered heavy mortality this year, due to some environmental catastrophe.
In 1977 an existing contaminant monitoring effort was revised by the USEPA and Department of Interior to reflect requirements of an international surveillance program called for in the 1972 U.S.- Canada Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. To meet the additional requirement a Cooperative Agreement between the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Interior was established. The purpose of this Agreement was to describe current levels and trends of toxic contaminants in fishes of the Great Lakes and to relate this information, where possible, to (1) the potential impacts of these contaminants on fish and other biota; (2) the effectiveness of remedial actions in reducing contaminants; and (3) the sources of contamination. The program has two parts: open water and 2) near shore. USGS/BRD samples lake trout, walleye and rainbow smelt for contaminant content from two deepwater locations on each of the Great Lakes, alternating sites each year. And, to determine contaminant content in areas immediately impacting the states bordering the Lakes, the states sample coho salmon, chinook salmon, and rainbow trout as both whole fish and fillets, with the fillets collected from 17 sites from all five Great Lakes and the whole fish also collected from one site per lake. The fish for both parts of the program are sampled at an age that gives a "snapshot" of the present contaminant burdens whether in the open waters or along each states' shores. Contaminants routinely monitored as part of the USEPA/GLNPO and States Cooperative Agreement are in Table 2. This project will also begin analyzing for selected PCB congeners, especially the planar ones. Planar PCBs have been identified as causing reproductive impairment in birds and mammals and are suspected in impairing lake trout egg hatchability and fry survivability. The whole fish data are used to determine current contaminant burden, residue levels and relative activity (decrease, increase, remain the same). The fillets are analyzed and the data given to the States to assist fish consumption advisory determinations. Secondary to the monitoring programs in scheduling but no less critical are GC/MS analytical services for numerous long- and short-term collaborative projects with Center staff and other environmental researchers.
The Biological Resources Divisions Leetown Science Center (LSC) is conducting research on the population genetics and systematics of threatened and endangered species. Laboratory-based molecular genetics techniques are required to determine the nature, the amount, and the distribution of genetic variation among geographic populations of these species. The work, which requires substantial attention to detail, is often meticulous, tedious, and can be physically demanding. The Contractor must have experience with basic molecular genetics techniques (i.e., DNA extraction, purification, quantification, and electrophoresis), must be familiar with all aspects of good laboratory technique (e.g., data recording), and be able to enter experimental data using spreadsheets, graphics, and word processing software run on a personal computer (either IBM-PC compatible or Apple Macintosh). The Contractor must be able to work closely with a diverse group of biologists and laboratory technicians.
The Biological Resources Division (BRD) of the U.S. Geological Survey is a scientific professional organization responsible for national leadership in research on the nation's fish and wildlife resources and their habitats. The Aquatic Ecology Laboratory (AEL) at the Leetown Science Center (LSC), located in Kearneysville, West Virginia conducts extensive research on landscape and stream ecology, with particular emphasis on those species and populations in decline or at risk. A significant portion of this work is concerned with assessing landscape correlates to ecosystem status and condition. This research is conducted through a combination of field surveys and geographic information system (GIS) analysis. Current projects include mapping vegetation communities in relation to ecological units and assessing amphibian breeding populations in US National Parks. Contract support is requested to perform necessary field work to collect measurements on land cover and vegetation, and to conduct GIS data entry and data processing required for these activities.
Fire management is one of the most pervasive land-management practices conducted by federal agencies in South Florida. Prescribed burning is a common practice by both the National Park Service and Fish and Wildlife Service. Big Cypress National Preserve carries out about 40,000 acres of prescribed burning annually. Research on the effects of season and frequency of burning on the native vegetation is necessary to assist land managers in making resource-based decisions about prescribed fire. A long-term study of fire season and frequency is being conducted in Big Cypress National Preserve. Permanent vegetation plots have been set up and experimental burns begun in May 1996. Contract support is required to perform data processing, field work, and laboratory work for this research.
The fundamental goal of the Anadromous & Estuarine Studies Section is to engage in field oriented research on populations of coastal nekton and their habitats. Research undertaken has two objectives: 1) Accomplishment and publication of original research of inherent scientific merit, contributing to knowledge of the life history, ecology, population biology, zoogeography, and systematics of coastal aquatic nekton; 2) Accomplishment of applied research of direct significance to the conservation and management of aquatic nekton resources, particularly on behalf of sister DOI bureaus (FWS, NPS, MMS).
Florida Bay, part of Everglades National Park, lies at the southern tip of Florida. The bay is downstream from an extensive water management system that provides water supply and flood protection for adjacent agriculture and urban populations. The affect of upstream water management activities on Florida Bay has been to alter the natural quantity, quality, timing and distribution of freshwater inflows. Since 1987 the bay has experienced a large-scale seagrass die-off, onset of extensive and persistent algal and turbidity blooms, and a period of severe hypersalinity. The Florida Bay Research Program was established in 1994 with the goals of: 1) evaluating the causes and mechanisms of these events; 2) evaluating their relationship to upstream water management activities; and 3) evaluating the nursery function of the bay in relation to changing environmental and habitat conditions particularly in relation to upstream water management actions. Benthic studies in Florida Bay are focused on understanding relationships between the seagrass associated fish and invertebrates community and environmental conditions and seagrass habitats across the Bay and in other south Florida ecosystems for comparison. The pink shrimp, commercially important in South Florida, is a targeted species for studies relating population dynamics and distribution in the Bay to Environmental conditions and seagrass habitat in the Bay, and to the offshore Tortugas fishery.
The overall goal of the Sirenia Project is to conduct basic biological research on the Florida manatee and its habitat. These positions support research on two major Project initiatives: assessing the impacts of hydrological restoration on estuarine fauna of southwest Florida, and determination of reproduction traits and population dynamics of manatees based on photo-identification techniques. Results of this research are applied to manatee management and conservation through cooperative interaction with other agencies.
The restoration of south Florida's ecosystems is proceeding under a congressional mandate. The land-margin ecosystems (e.g. mangrove forests) are a critical ecological component of the south Florida system. The overall goal of this program is to understand how mangrove forests and other land-margin ecosystems will potentially respond to upstream hydrological management, sea-level rise and various global climate change scenarios. Research is carried out by personnel at the USGS Biological Resources Division's Florida Caribbean Science Center, which has field stations at Everglades National Park (Homestead, FL), the Big Cypress National Preserve (Ochopee, FL), and the Center for Coastal and Regional Marine Studies (St. Petersburg, FL). Contractor support is required to perform necessary geographic and remote sensing tasks and data analysis associated with land-margin ecosystem research program.
The USGS BRD Eastern Region has six science centers from Michigan to Miami and more than 25 field stations. Our scientists, biologists and technicians work for the Florida Caribbean Science Center (FCSC) Restoration Ecology Branch in the Florida Everglades, the Leetown Science Center (LSC) National Fish Health Laboratory in West Virginia, the National Wildlife Health Center (NWHC) in Madison, Wisconsin and the Great Lakes Science Center (GLSC) in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
FCSC Gainesville
At the FCSC REB in South Florida, Johnson Controls personnel help their Task Order Managers conduct and coordinate research related to sustainable restoration of South Florida's greater Everglades and coastal ecosystems. The Branch addresses critical information needs of resource managers by integrating biological inventorying, monitoring, and empirical research on species and ecosystem processes through development of predictive ecological models. The Branch works in collaboration with resource managers and scientists from a multitude of other agencies and universities. In addition, the Branch is developing a digital library capability to ensure that all of its information, data, metadata, and ecological modeling tools are widely available to resource managers, other scientists and the general public.
Center for Coastal Geology and Regional Marine Studies
In 1988, the USGS Center for Coastal Geology was established in cooperation with the Department of Marine Sciences at the University of South Florida (USF). The Center occupies 45,000 sq. ft. in the combined facilities of the historic Studebaker Building and the Paul J. Getting Building on the St. Petersburg campus of USF. The Getting Building facilities house laboratory analysis capabilities and a 12 meter-long recirculating flume for flow and sediment transport experiments. The Center is one of the first USGS Laboratories undergoing a change to bring all four USGS Division Staff (Geologic, Biology, Water and Mapping) under one roof. Here an interdisciplinary scientific approach to research is being created.
NWHC, Madison, WI
At the National Wildlife Health Center in Madison, Johnson Controls employees help monitor disease and assess the impact of disease on wildlife populations; define ecological relationships leading to the occurrence of disease; transfer technology for disease prevention and control; and provide guidance, training and on-site assistance for reducing wildlife losses when outbreaks occur. Wildlife managers across the United States are often confronted with sick and dead animals, frequently on a large scale. Minimizing such wildlife losses is the mission of the NWHC.
GLSC, Ann Arbor
The Great Lakes Science Center is dedicated to providing scientific information for the management of our nation's biological resources. GLSC research spans a range of studies including fish populations and communities, aquatic habitats, terrestrial ecology, nearshore and coastal communities and the biological processes that occur in this complex ecosystem of the Great Lakes. Leetown Science Center, Kearneysville, WV - Aquatic Ecology Laboratory The Aquatic Ecology Laboratory was established in 1993 to conduct research on the structure, functioning, and health of aquatic systems and is a component of the U.S. Geological Survey's Leetown Science Center. The facility is located in historic Leetown, West Virginia on the site of the nation's first federal fisheries research facility. Established in 1931, the Leetown Science Center has long been a leader in fish health, culture, and ecology research. The Aquatic Ecology Laboratory has state-of-the-art research facilities including 12 half-acre and 9 quarter acre experimental culturing ponds, a full genetic sequencing laboratory, a geographic information systems laboratory, and extensive field equipment for stream surveys and aquatic sampling. The mission of the Aquatic Ecology Laboratory is to provide research to clients on the structure, functioning, and health of aquatic systems, including species and their habitats.
Core Capabilities
Current Research Areas:
| Eastern Region Technical Services Contract | ||
| IAP World Services, Inc. 7315 N. Atlantic Ave. Cape Canaveral, FL 32920 | Phone: 321 784-7202 | |
