Illinois Natural History Survey - University of Illinois

The new University of Illinois Pollinatarium, currently open from 1 - 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, is the idea of INHS affiliates Gene Robinson and May Berenbaum. It provides information on bee pollination and is housed in an old shed on the campus of the University of Illinois. The Pollinatarium also features artwork and displays by INHS researchers Mike Jeffords and Carie Nixon.

More information about the Pollinatarium can be found by reading "New UI Pollinatarium already abuzz with activity" in the News-Gazette.

Additional information can be found on the Pollinatarium website.

In the April 23, 2009 edition of Environmental Almanac, Mike Ward discusses the steady rise in Illinois' population of Sandhill cranes. Ward also mentions that the wetland changes that have helped the crane numbers rise, have led to a decrease in other wetland bird numbers.

The article, Reader questions about birds, can be seen at the Environmental Almanac website. The article was also published in the News-Gazette on April 26, 2009.

Illinois Natural History Survey avian biologist Steve Bailey discusses Bald eagle populations in Illinois in the April 17, 2009 version of The News Sun. Bailey says that eagle populations have increased over the years, and now are inhabiting ranges that were likely historically inhabited. The bird is now spreading quickly throughout the Chicago area.

The full text of the article is available on NewsBank. The title of the article is "So, exactly what DO you call a group of pelicans? Eagle populationsoaring in state". The article may also be accessed on The News Sun website: http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/newssun/

Alexandra Cousteau, granddaughter of oceanographer Jacques-Yves Cousteau and founder of Blue Legacy International, visited the National Great Rivers Research and Education Center (NGRREC) in Brighton, IL from April 20 - 22. Cousteau, was gathering film footage for her upcoming documentary, "Expedition: Blue Planet." Ms. Cousteau worked with John Chick, Field Station Director for the INHS and NGRREC, to investigate nutrient-pollution in the Mississippi River due to current farming practices and other sources. To facilitate the learning process for the documentary crew, Dr. Chick also organized a round table discussion for the "Expedition: Blue Planet" group. The round table included representatives from the USDA-NRCS, USEPA, the Nature Conservancy, the Sierra Club and the US Army Corps of Engineers. Dr. Chick and his INHS/NGRREC crew took the Blue Planet Expedition to film on the Mississippi River in various locations, focusing on both healthy sections of this floodplain ecosystem and areas challenged by industrial and agricultural pollution. Expedition members also learned first hand about the risk posed to boaters from the leaping behavior of invasive Asian Carp.

Dr. Chick was mentioned in three of the "Expedition: Blue Planet" daily blogs, and was interviewed for the documentary film. Videos from this visit should be posted on the Blue Legacy website in a few weeks.

Dr. Brenda Molano-Flores was the Guest Speaker at the Graduate Expo Week 2009 - Eastern Illinois University, April 14. Graduate students in the Department of Biological Sciences invited Dr. Molano-Flores to present her research on the reproductive ecology of prairie plants and how antagonistc relationships (e.g., insect herbivory) can affect mutualistic relationships (e.g., pollinator visitation) leading to a reduction in plant reproduction. The Graduate Expo Week 2009 was a four day event from April 14-16, recognizing students who have achieved excellence in graduate scholarship for the 2008-2009 academic year. Throughout the week graduate programs presented their research, projects, and accomplishments during special sessions. This event was sponsored by The Graduate School and Graduate Student Advisory Council.

Dr. Stephen A. Havera's books are now on sale. More information can be seen by viewing the order form (PDF document.) Waterfowl of Illinois order form (PDF).

Dr. Dave Philipp, Conservation Geneticist at the Illinois Natural History Survey, was featured on ScienceDaily for research he and his lab members conducted on largemouth bass. The research began in 1975 in a lake in Fox Ridge State Park where researchers tagged fish each time they were caught. Subsequent experiments using controlled research ponds compared offspring of bass that had never been caught with offspring of those fish that were frequently caught from the same pond. Dr. Philipp's research supports the idea that vulnerability to being caught is an inherited trait. His findings have implications on the management of fish in the wild.

This On-line article can be viewed at: Born To Be Caught: "Largemouth Bass Vulnerability To Being Caught By Anglers Is A Heritable Trait".

Photos taken by University of Illinois postdoctoral researcher Alex Wild are featured on the On-line resource scienceblogs.com. Wild visited the Medical Entomology lab at the Illinois Natural History Survey to take photos of mosquito larvae that Dr. Barry Alto is conducting research on. The photos can be seen at the "On Assignment: Mosquito Larvae" page at scienceblogs.com.

The article with Dr. Alto's research can be viewed starting May 18th in the Journal of Animal Ecology.

The tech reports which were digitized for Illinois Harvest are live in IDEALS. Here's the link to the INHS Community, which has the Tech Reports collection in it: https://www.ideals.uiuc.edu/handle/2142/8803

The reports range from 1962 to 2007.

Dr. Steve Taylor, Illinois Natural History Survey, was interviewed for an article that was run in the Sunday edition of the Daily Herald. The newspaper, which is suburban Chicago's largest daily newspaper, published the article called, "Shedding some light on Illinois' caverns" in the April 5, 2009 edition. The article discusses karst systems, sinkholes, and mentions the federally endangered Illinois cave amphipod. The Newsbank article can be read at the following link: Shedding some light on Illinois' caverns.

The Illinois Natural History Survey was awarded a grant of $120,000 for a study entitled, "Evaluation of Lake Trout Spawning Reef Suitability in Illinois Waters of Lake Michigan." The project aims to evaluate suitable lake trout spawning habitat, measure egg deposition and assess post-hatch lake trout survival in the southern part of Lake Michigan.

The PI for this project is Sergiusz Czesny of the Lake Michigan Biological Station.

Dr. Steve Taylor was interviewed by Chris Young for an article that was picked up by GateHouse News Service and has appeared in both The Courier and The State Journal Register. In the article, Taylor discusses cave biology, including karst systems and what organisms are typically found inside Illinois caves.

The article can be found at the following NewsBank links:
17 March 2009, The Courier, "What lies beneath: Inside an Illinois cave"

14 March 2009, The State Journal Register, "What lies beneath: Inside an Illinois cave"

Rob Kanter writes about research being conducted by Illinois Natural History Survey's Dr. Leellen Solter, and INHS affiliate Dr. Sydney Cameron, in the latest issue of the Environmental Almanac. The two are conducting research on bee population declines, along with collegues in Logan, Utah at the USDA Bee Biology and Systematics Laboratory.

The entire article, "University of Illinois scientists study, promote awareness of bees," along with a link to the audio episode, can be found at the Environmental Almanac website (http://environmentalalmanac.blogspot.com).

Dr. May Berenbaum and Dr. Gene Robinson, also INHS affiliates, are also mentioned in the article.

A 10 March 2009 article in the State Journal-Register discusses lawmaker ideas about asian carp. The two Illinois lawmakers, Representative Patricia Bellock and Representative Jim Watson, have vastly different ideas about what to do about the invasive asian carp in Illinois rivers. In the article, Illinois Natural History Survey's Illinois River Biological Station director Greg Sass provides information for the lawmakers to consider. Sass is quoted as saying, "We've been monitoring silver carp and since 1998, their population has doubled almost annually."

The Illinois River Biological Station has been conducting a Long Term Illinois River Fish Population Monitoring Program (LTEF) on the Illinois River since 1957.

To read the NewsBank version of the article, visit the following URL: Asian carp pose conundrum for state lawmakers

Nicholas A. Tinsley has won the 2009 William H. Luckmann Award for Research in Applied Entomology. His research project, "Effects of Current and Future Soybean Aphid Management Tactics on Soybean Aphids and Their Natural Enemies in Illinois," will help scientists and growers improve methods of Soybean Aphid integrated pest management.

The William H. Luckmann Award is given for research that focuses on aspects of applied entomology such as arthropod pest management, use of insects in biological control programs, pollinators, or natural areas health. The research may be carried out for agricultural, horticultural, urban, medical or natural areas systems.

To learn more about the William H. Luckmann award, please visit the Illinois Natural History Survey webpage dedicated to this topic: http://www.inhs.illinois.edu/resources/opportunities/awards/luckmann.html.

Dr. Michael Ward, Critical Trends Assessment coordinator at the Illinois Natural History Survey, discusses bald eagle population trends in the 31 January 2009 edition of "The State Journal Register." The bald eagle, which is no longer federally listed as endangered, is also being considered for removal from the state list. Ward says that the bald eagle populations in the state are on the rise and that, “the trajectory is really positive.”

The full text of the article is available at NewsBank. The article was also picked up by GateHouse News Service, and was printed in the 2 February 2009 edition of the Lincoln, IL "The Courier."

Whitney Banning, a doctoral candidate whose advisor is Dr. Christopher Phillips, was interviewed for an article that appeared in the On-line version of Medill Reports. Medill Reports is produced by graduate journalism students at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.

The article, "Local turtles disappear as urbanization destroys Illinois wetlands", focuses on Blanding's turtle, which is a state-threatened species in Illinois. In the article, Banning encourages individuals to watch for turtles crossing roads and also to report turtle sightings.

Greg Sass discusses silver carp and the electric fish barrier In a January 9, 2009 article in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The article focuses on the impediments to the electric barrier that is supposed to protect Lake Michigan from invasive species moving through the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal.

Silver carp, like Asian carp, is an invasive fish threatening the Great Lakes. Greg Sass, INHS Illinois River Biological Station Director, said that silver carp 'accounted for more than 50% of the catch' during 18 weeks of sampling last summer.

The full-text of the article can be found on the NewsBank website: Fish fence may get turned on this month But Asian carp barrier for Great Lakes would be at just 25% power

Rob Kanter creates a list of environmental books in the December 11, 2008 issue of Environmental Almanac. Kanter asked some people with environmental interests if they would suggest some books for the list. Both Jamie Ellis, Illinois Natural History Survey botanist, and Dr. Chris Phillips, Illinois Natural History Survey Herpetologist, were asked to suggest books for the year-end list.

The entire list can be viewed at the following URL: An environmental book list for the holidays which is on the Environmental Almanac website.

Rob Kanter encourages his readers to pick up a copy of Joyce Hofmann's "Field Manual of Illinois Mammals" in a December 4, 2008 article for Environmental Almanac discussing beavers. Kanter cites Hofmann's field guide as, "written with attention to the interests of readers who are not scientists" and also states that the book, "is distinguished by first-rate photographs and original color drawings."

The 358 page field guide covers 60 species and is designed to fit in a pocket. Each species features a color illustration by Aleta Holt and a distribution map. Species accounts include scientific and common names, physical descriptions of all animals and their skulls (including measurements and dental formulas), comparisons with similar species, discussions of each animal’s natural history (e.g., habitat, diet, reproduction), brief descriptions of foot tracks, and notes on status and distribution in Illinois. Generalized shapes of front and hind tracks are illustrated, as are characteristic track patterns of some species. In addition, two dichotomous keys are provided for each order.

The book is available by contacting the INHS Publications Office at (217) 244-2161 or at the following e-mail address: pubs-sales@inhs.uiuc.edu. Please reference "Manual 12" when ordering.

Research by Dr. Kevin Johnson at the Illinois Natural History Survey on doves and their parasitic feather lice has been featured by a major University textbook (Evolutionary Analysis, Freeman and Herron). Four studies published by Dr. Johnson between 2003 and 2004 indicate that host shifts by these parasites are constrained by dispersal ability, and these studies were highlighted in the textbook. This research compared two different groups of dove parasites differing in their dispersal abilities. The parasites with more dispersal capability showed more evidence of hosts shifts over both short and long timespans.

Aaron Yetter has been elected Secretary of the North Central Section of The Wildlife Society for 2009. The states represented in the North Central Section, one of eight sections in the country, are: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, and Wisconsin.

More information about the mission of The Wildlife Society, and the purpose of its sections, can be found on homepage for The Wildlife Society at the following url: www.wildlife.org/.

Our newest bulletin has recently been delivered: Contaminants in Unionid Mussels from the Confluence of the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers by INHS's own Joan Esarey, Dave Soucek and Jeff Levengood along with University of Illinois' Robert J. Hudson and Wade Wimer and SIU's Richard S. Halbrook has been assigned Bulletin 38(5): 197-214.

This bulletin reports preliminary research on pollution from metals and pesticides found in freshwater mussels at the confluence of the Mississippi and Illinois rivers. Results from this investigation suggest that unionid mussels in this area may be at risk from elevated exposure to environmental contaminants. Further research to examine health and productivity of unionids in this area is warranted.

The price is $10.00 plus shipping and handling.

To order, telephone our Publications Department: (217) 244-2161 or e-mail us at: pubs-sales@inhs.uiuc.edu. Please be sure to tell the representative that you would like to order Bulletin 38-5.

Research conducted by Dr. Barry Alto, and others, found that small mosquitos are more likely to carry the dengue virus than larger mosquitos. The study fed mosquitos dengue infected blood, and found that the smaller mosquitos had a higher rate of infection when tested. This research was published in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. An article discussing the work was also picked up by UPI.

Dr. Alto is the director of the Medical Entomology Program at the Illinois Natural History Survey, a division of the University of Illinois' Institute of Natural Resource Sustainability.

The full text of the UPI article can be viewed on NewsBank: Small mosquitoes are likely virus carriers and the abstract of the paper can be viewed on the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene site: Size Alters Susceptibility of Vectors to Dengue Virus Infection and Dissemination

The Evansville Courier & Press (IN) published an article by Phil Potter on 2 November 2008 that discusses the decline in bird numbers in Pool 19 of the Mississippi River. 1958 data collected by the Illinois Natural History Survey recorded 465,200 lesser scaup visiting Pool 19, while 2001 data collected by the Illinois Natural History Survey recorded 55,53 lesser scaup.

The Newsbank article, in its entirety, can be found at the following URL: NOT AS MANY BIRDS AS IN THE PAST ARE LANDING IN POOL 19