Research

As employees of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, our most important function is providing technical support for our regional and field offices. We are a resource for our offices and partners to provide expertise in the application and interpretation of genetic techniques. We assist managers with interpreting the results of genetic studies conducted by external partners, such as those relevant for listing decisions and ESU designations. Agency personnel often work with external researchers in developing study plans using genetics; we will review these plans to provide constructive input. For example, there has been a proliferation of study proposals involving the use of environmental DNA and we have assisted field offices in evaluating the merits of these proposals.