Geology Reports⌕ Search
Home/Archive/USGS

USGS · fs20053004

Biological science in the Great Basin

Members of the Engineering Geology and Ground Water Branches, U.S. Geological Survey
View original source ↗Read source document ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

The Great Basin is an expanse of desert and high moun-tains situated between the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada of the western United States. The most explicit description of the Great Basin is that area in the West where surface waters drain inland. In other words, the Great Basin is comprised of many separate drainage areas - each with no outlet. What at first glance may appear as only a barren landscape, the Great Basin upon closer inspection reveals island mountains, sagebrush seas, and intermittent aquatic habitats, all teeming with an incredible number and variety of plants and animals. Biologists at the USGS are studying many different species and ecosystems in the Great Basin in order to provide information about this landscape for policy and land-management decision-making. The following stories represent a few of the many projects the USGS is conducting in the Great Basin.

Explore related subjects

Fact SheetReport

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeXRIS

Members of the Engineering Geology and Ground Water Branches, U.S. Geological Survey. 2005. Biological science in the Great Basin. https://doi.org/10.3133/fs20053004

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related USGS reports

USGS2026

Compensatory offsetting tool for energy infrastructure

The U.S. Geological Survey and the Habitat and Population Evaluation Team of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service created several tools that enable compensatory offsets for displacement of breeding grassland birds and waterfowl associated with energy infrastructure, including renewable-energy, oil, and gas facilities and roads. The Avian-Impact Offset Method (AIOM) addresses displacement affecting grassland birds and waterfowl. The basis of the AIOM is a calculation that quantifies the displacement of grassland birds and waterfowl associated with energy infrastructure (that is, the disturbance features). The AIOM then estimates the amount of habitat needed to compensate for this displacement. The AIOM converts the number of bird pairs lost owing to avian behavioral avoidance and estimates the site-specific area of grasslands or the number of wetlands needed to compensate for displaced pairs of grassland birds or waterfowl, respectively. Decision-support tools spatially apply the AIOM to estimate grassland and wetland offsets and guide the location of offsetting measures. The AIOM can be applied to offsetting measures, including preserving existing habitat, restoring former habitat, or establishing conservation banks.

Fact Sheet↗
USGS2026

The National Wildlife Disease Database

The National Wildlife Disease Database (NWDD) is a national information hub that integrates wildlife disease data across jurisdictions to guide natural resource management and deliver early warnings of unusual events and emerging threats, strengthening public health preparedness and protecting the agricultural economy.

Fact Sheet↗