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Plants and Animals: Header image shows a line drawing of an owl in black resting on a horizontal graphical bar. Background shows line drawing of plants in cream color.

Our lives are interlinked with the plants and animals in our surroundings. The ever-expanding human population, with needs for land, water, resources, and recreation, conflict directly with the habitat requirements of many species. By understanding cause-and-effect relationships between natural and human impacts on biological resources, we are able to interpret trends and work with resource managers to evaluate options to correct problems.


Find out more about plants and animals at the sites below:

USGS siteLink to USGS sites.
Non-USGS siteLink to non-USGS sites. We are happy to provide this link for your convenience. Please be aware that we cannot guarantee the accuracy of non-USGS sites.

Featured Sites
Link to Northern Prairie Biological Resources. Icons shows photo of 4 farmers working.

USGS siteNorthern Prairie Biological Resources
List of information on the biotic resources of the Great Plains for decision makers, resource managers, scientists, and the public.


Link to Amphibian Declines and Deformities. Icon a 3-legged frog on someone's palm.

USGS siteAmphibian Declines and Deformities
Links to researches on amphibian deformities and answers frequently asked questions on the issue.


Link to The National Biological Information Infrastructure. Icon shows a sunflower field.

Non-USGS siteThe National Biological Information Infrastructure
Use the NBII to answer a wide range of questions related to the management, use, or conservation of this Nation's biological resources.



USGS site Alaska Biological Science Research
Provide biological information and research findings to resource managers, policymakers, and the public to support sound management of biological resources and ecosystems in Alaska.

USGS site The Learning Room
Designed especially for mid-elementary-school-aged kids and up. Learn about all kinds of biologically related subjects.

USGS site Diversity and Abundance of Insects

USGS site Status and Trends of the Nation's Biological Resources
Summary of the status and trends of our nation's biological resources.

USGS site Nonindigenous Species
Discusses the issue of invasion by nonindigenous species.

USGS site Potential Effects of Global Change on Bats
Study on why bats are declining in population.

USGS site USGS Geology in Parks
Learn geology basics from touring the national parks.

USGS site Media for Science
Photo collections of maps, natural disasters, and activities at the USGS.

USGS site Monitoring Grizzly Bear Populations using DNA
Reports field methods and results of using DNA to monitor bear populations in the Glazier National Park.

USGS site Deserts: Geology and Resources
Describes various types of desert; including extraterrestrial deserts, illustrates various desert features and eolian (wind) processes, and discusses the use of remote sensing in studying deserts and the process of desertification.

USGS site Dinosaurs: Facts and Fiction
Do you ever ask "Where did dinosaurs live?" and "Why did dinosaurs grow so big?" Find out here and more!

USGS site South Florida Information Access
Provides geological and biological information for the South Florida region.

USGS site South Florida Virtual Tour
View beautiful habitat, plants, and animals of South Florida.

USGS site Cascades Volcano Observatory
Focuses on hazards, activity, history, and monitoring of volcanoes, with emphasis on volcanoes of the Western United States.

USGS site The Whooping Crane Report
Regularly updated reports on breeding whooping cranes.

USGS site Sea Birds Photo Gallery
View photos of sea birds.

USGS site Midcontinent Ecological Science Center
Contains articles on scientific researches and education pages for kids.

USGS site Links to Bat Web Sites

USGS site FrogWatch USA
Frogwatch USA is a frog-and-toad monitoring program for amateurs and scientists alike coordinated by the U.S. Geological Survey Biological Resources Division at the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center.

USGS site Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center
Information for wildlife managers, scientists, and the public on natural-resource issues and biota of the North American Great Plains.

USGS site North American Reporting Center for Amphibian Malformations
Information on the issue of malformed amphibians, including a current map of the situation in the United States and Canada, and current literature and news articles.

USGS site What do the malformations of amphibians look like?
Photos that illustrate different types of abnormalities and malformations on amphibians, such as frogs and lizards.

USGS site Agate Fossil Beds
Produced by National Park Service's Division of Publication, this book provides a glimpse of that time, long before the arrival of man, when now-extinct creatures roamed the land which we know today as Nebraska.

USGS site House Bat Management
Describes batproofing techniques that will provide effective and acceptable alternatives for dealing with house bat problems and hazards.

USGS site An Introduction to Ants
Informative article on the ecology of ants.

USGS site Eastern Bluebird
Provides an introduction to the habitat requirements of the eastern bluebird and is designed to assist in the development of a comprehensive bluebird management plan.

USGS site North Dakota Prairie
A brief history of native prairie in North Dakota and information on programs and agencies concerned with its preservation.

USGS site Northeast Wetland Flora Field Office Guide to Plant Species
See illustrated glossary and more than 200 hundred species with detailed description and photos.

USGS site Southern Wetland Flora - Field Office Guide to Plant Species
Contains illustrated glossary and hundreds of detailed species descriptions with photographs.

USGS site Attracting Wildlife to Your Back Yard
A guide for homeowners who want to make their surroundings more attractive to wildlife.

USGS site Estimated Costs of Maintaining a Recovered Wolf Population
A cost comparison of maintaining a wolf population in Minnesota at levels.

USGS site Caterpillars of Eastern Forests
Includes species descriptions, life cycle and morphology information, and tips on photographing, rearing, collecting, and preserving specimens of many caterpillars living in forests of the eastern United States.

USGS site Caterpillars of Pacific Northwest Forests and Woodlands
A field guide to caterpillars commonly found in forests and woodlands of the Pacific Northwest, including sections describing the natural history, nomenclature, identification keys, and details for collection and preservation of specimens.

USGS site Grasslands
Features several animals and plants dependent on native grassland and provides insight into the relationship between remaining native grassland and biological resources.

USGS site Biological Control of Leafy Spurge
nformation on a major biological control program to combat the spread and reduce infestations of the aggressive, exotic perennial weed known as leafy spurge.

USGS site Macromoths of Northwest Forests and Woodlands
Informs on the moth's life cycle, species, and habitat. Includes photo of species.

USGS site Songbirds of North Dakota
Includes color photos, distributions and descriptive information on selected songbirds in North Dakota.

USGS site Butterflies of North America
Contains species photo gallery, information, and maps as to where butterflies appear.

USGS site Butterflies of North America
View over 500 photos of butterflies and species descriptions.

USGS site Moths of North America
Know more about moths, what they look like, where they live, and how they live.

USGS site Glossary of Bird Conservation Terms
Provide standard definitions for many of the terms used in avian conservation biology.

USGS site Snow Goose Population Problem
A three part series on the problems associated with overpopulation of snow geese in North America.

USGS site Western Wetland Flora
Field guide containing color photographs, line drawings, distinquishing features, range maps, and textual descriptions for 300 species of wetland plants that live in the western U.S.

USGS site Northern Prairie Biological Resources
List of information on the biotic resources of the Great Plains for decisionmakers, resource managers, scientists, and the public.

USGS site Assessing Breeding Populations of Ducks by Ground Counts
Methodology used to estimate annual abundance of breeding duck pairs on study areas in the prairie parklands and grasslands of southern Canada.

USGS site National Wildlife Health Center
Resource site for materials related to wildlife health research and the functions of the National Wildlife Health Center (NWHC).

USGS site West Nile Virus
Check out latest reports, preventions, and activity maps of West Nile Virus.

USGS site The Patuxent Plant List and Herbarium Collection
Its photo gallery contains a large collection of plants.

USGS site Birds of North America: Taxonomic List
List of birds by their family, species, and common names. Some listings link to an informative background page with pictures.

USGS site Amphibian Declines and Deformities
Links to researches on amphibian deformities and answers frequently asked questions on the issue.

USGS site From Microbes to Mammals - Invasive Species
Links to articles on various invasive species.

USGS site Hazards
Links to various hazards reports, including earthquake, volcanoes, flood, landslides, wildfire, wildlife diseases, geomagnetism, and coastal storms and tsunamis.

USGS site The Impact of Invasive Species on Reptiles and Amphibians
Links to researches about the issue of native amphibian and reptile populations worldwide under threat by exotic invasive species of plants and animals, including other reptiles and amphibians.

USGS site A Field Guide to the Reptiles and Amphibians of Coastal Southern California
Contains species photos, field guides, and illustrated glossary of amphibians and reptiles.

USGS site Western Ecological Research Center
Study of ecosystem, wildlife, and global change in Western U.S.

USGS site Invasive Species Research
Read reports on invasive plants and animals.

USGS site Sea Otter Research
Contains links to studies of sea otters.

USGS site Pintail Recovery Initiative
Follow pintail ducks' annual journey up and down the West Coast. Discover how biologists track the ducks, read their weekly journal, and track the ducks yourself using the interactive map.

USGS site The Rare Ones
Rare and endangered species

Non-USGS site Park Geology Tour of National Parks
Learn geology through online tour of national parks.

Non-USGS site Park Geology Teacher's Features
Teaching geology with national park examples.

Non-USGS site Glacier National Park
Take an electronic field trip to the crown jewel of the Rockies.

Non-USGS site The Fragile Fringe
Lesson plans and activities to teach students about wetlands.

Non-USGS site The National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII)
Use the NBII to answer a wide range of questions related to the management, use, or conservation of this Nation's biological resources.

Non-USGS site More Than Skin Deep
A teacher's guide to caves.

Non-USGS site GLOBE: Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environments Education Program
Teachers and students -- help scientists by sending your scientific data and observations to their data archive.

Non-USGS site Bureau of Land Management
The Bureau of Land Management administers 264 million acres of public lands containing natural, historical, cultural, recreational, and economic resources.

Non-USGS site FrogWeb: Amphibian Declines & Deformities
FrogWeb is a multiagency initiative that provides information about recent global declines and deformities among amphibian populations; presents efforts made by scientific agencies to study and address the phenomena.

Non-USGS site Photo Gallery of Mount St. Helens
View over 190 photos of Mount St. Helens' landscape and wildlife before and after eruption.

Non-USGS site Image Gallery from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Find images of fishes, wildlife, duck stamps, landscapes, and more.



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