November 2019

Wildlife agencies are increasing efforts to control the movement of invasive Asian carp in waterways that don’t currently have established populations. Where they are established, the non-native fish have significantly impacted watersheds and native fisheries and agencies are concerned about the fish expanding into new areas that currently do not have them. The efforts include the use of environmental DNA to identify areas where the fish may be moving as well as deploying new technologies to limit the movement.

One species of bats severely affected by white-nose syndrome (WNS) is the northern long-eared bat, Myotis septentrionalis. Population declines of up to 99 percent have been documented throughout its range and the species undergoes near extirpation within three years in the locations where the fungus that causes WNS, Pseudogymnoascus destructans, is detected. Due to the effects of the disease on populations and an apparent lack of resistance or tolerance to WNS, northern long-eared bats were listed as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act in 2015. However, certain populations in coastal areas of New England appear to be persisting even after infection by the fungus.

The USGS Alabama Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit and the USGS Leetown Science Center are partnering with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to re-envision the way science supports endangered species decision making. The partners are working together to develop a Species Status Assessment (SSA) framework for Sonoran desert tortoise, the eastern black rail, the Puerto Rican boa, the Rio Grande cutthroat trout, and other species. The USFWS is required under the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA) to consider the health of species at risk of extinction.