Contributions include monitoring environmental quality and changes that are occurring, developing predictive models for assessing impacts associated with environmental change, and conducting investigations that lead to enhanced understanding of the environmental aspects of specific diseases. Findings contribute to societal needs for developing environmentally sound scientific strategies that enhance disease prevention and control in wildlife and humans alike. Confirmation by biologists of these observations and reports of similar findings from other areas of the United States and Canada resulted in public concern regarding the causes and implications for human health. A USGS workshop involving scientists from across the Nation produced a strategic plan to guide scientific investigations. Pathological evaluations have documented the different types of deformities, and associated studies have gathered information on environmental contaminants, bacteria, viruses, and parasites present in the tissues of affected and nonaffected amphibians.
Additional investigations are ongoing.
At the Salton Sea in California, USGS scientists are studying this important ecosystem. Moreover, rising water levels and deteriorating water quality are adversely affecting recreational opportunities and economic development of the surrounding lands. A USGS-sponsored workshop involving all major stakeholders produced a strategy document for returning the Salton Sea ecosystem to a healthier status, and an additional workshop has provided a scientific strategy for obtaining the environmental information needed to guide decision makers. USGS scientists are also monitoring water quality and investigating fish and bird mortality events to determine the specific causes involved and identify the ecological factors to help resolve these problems. Across the Nation, USGS scientists are conducting other investigations to provide the scientific basis for addressing a multitude of ecosystem health and disease issues.