Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center
Located on six hundred acres along the James River Valley near Jamestown, North Dakota, the Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center is one of seventeen USGS Science Centers that develop and disseminate the scientific information needed to understand, conserve, and manage the Nation’s rich biological resources.
Migratory Bird Center of Excellence
Migratory Bird Center of Excellence
The Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center is known for its long history of meeting the migratory-bird research needs of Department of the Interior and the Nation.
NPWRC Science Topics
NPWRC Science Topics
Science conducted by Northern Prairie scientists can be grouped into six primary research topics:
Meet the Northern Prairie Staff
Meet the Northern Prairie Staff
Our employee directory contains names, position titles, phone numbers, email addresses, and biographies of Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center staff.
News
Wind Power and Conservation in Kazakhstan and Central Asia
Wind Power and Conservation in Kazakhstan and Central Asia
Wind Energy and Wildlife: We can Have Both
Wind Energy and Wildlife: We can Have Both
USGS Ecosystems Science Leaders Receive the 2023 Presidential Rank Awards
USGS Ecosystems Science Leaders Receive the 2023 Presidential Rank Awards
Publications
True metabolizable energy of foods consumed by lesser scaup (Aythya affinis)
The energy derived from available foods is an important factor used in conservation planning for migratory species. Estimating true metabolizable energy (TME) of available foods has become a common method for resource managers to increase reliability in energetic carrying-capacity estimates. Lesser scaup (Aythya affinis; hereafter scaup), have experienced a population decline concurrent with suspe
Migrating whooping crane activity near U.S. Air Force bases and airfields in Oklahoma
The Aransas-Wood Buffalo population of Grus americana (Linnaeus, 1758; whooping cranes) migrates through the U.S. Great Plains, encountering places substantially altered by human activity. Using telemetry data from 2017 to 2022, we investigated whooping crane migration behavior around U.S. Air Force bases in Oklahoma. Our study focused on potential collision risks between whooping cranes and aircr
Freshwater biogeochemical hotspots: High primary production and ecosystem respiration in shallow waterbodies
Ponds, wetlands, and shallow lakes (collectively “shallow waterbodies”) are among the most biogeochemically active freshwater ecosystems. Measurements of gross primary production (GPP), respiration (R), and net ecosystem production (NEP) are rare in shallow waterbodies compared to larger and deeper lakes, which can bias our understanding of lentic ecosystem processes. In this study, we calculated
Science
Using Pollinator Environmental DNA to Assess the Ecological Resilience of America’s Grasslands
Scientists from six USGS science centers are collaborating with USDA, university, and Tribal partners, and Department of the Interior land managers, to assess the status of pollinator communities and the distribution of species of conservation concern using environmental DNA. These methods will be used to improve assessments of habitat quality and pollinator responses to restoration, including...
By
Species Management Research Program, Eastern Ecological Science Center, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Great Lakes Science Center, Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center, Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, Pacific Northwest Environmental DNA Laboratory
USGS Science Supporting 50 Years of the Endangered Species Act
This Endangered Species Day, we’re celebrating the USGS science that helps achieve sustainable management and conservation of some of the Nation’s most endangered flora and fauna.
Tools for the Mitigation of Habitat-Based Impacts to Birds
Compensatory mitigation is applied in grassland and wetland ecosystems to offset environmental damage from disturbances such as energy development. Energy facilities continue to proliferate across the United States, yet implementation of mitigation tools to ameliorate habitat loss or behavioural effects on wildlife is rare. NPWRC scientists conducted a 10-year Before-After, Control-Impact (BACI)...