Japanese Beetles spreading westward
Published Date:August 1, 2011
INHS Entomologist and Cooperative Agricultural Pest Survey coordinator Kelly Estes was interviewed about the spread of Japanese Beetles westward. Their ability to spread in a given year is dependent on fluctuating populations, which can be affected by rainfall. The best way to get rid of them is collecting them in a bucket of hot soapy water.
WICD News Channel 15
Published Date: August 1, 2011
INHS scientists awarded National Science Foundation Grants
Published Date:July 31, 2011
**An earlier version of this story and press release inadvertantly omitted Botanist Mary Ann Feist from the project "Plants, Herbivores and Parasitoids: A Model System for the Study of Tri-Trophic Associations"
INHS Scientists and Affiliates will play an immense role in the National Science Foundation program to "Advance Digitization of Biological Collections."
INHS Entomologist Chris Dietrich is the PI on the project: "InvertNet--An Integrative Platform for Research on Environmental Change, Species Discovery and Identification"
INHS Mycologist Andrew Miller is a collaborator on the project "North American Lichens and Bryophytes: Sensitive Indicators of Environmental Quality and Change"
INHS Botanists Rick Phillippe and Mary Ann Feist and Entomologist Dmitry Dmitriev were awarded subcontracts on the project "Plants, Herbivores and Parasitoids: A Model System for the Study of Tri-Trophic Associations"
INHS Emeritus Ichthyologist Larry Page is the PI on The Integrated Digitized Biocollections (iDigBio)project which will serve as a permanent national resource to integrate data from biological research collections around the United States.
NSF News Release
Prairie Research Institute News Release
Published Date: July 31, 2011
Western Corn Rootworm Webinar
Published Date:July 28, 2011
INHS Behavioral Entomologist Joe Spencer recently presented a webinar on Western Corn Rootworm, a longtime pest of corn crops in the United States. INHS scientists have been studying WCR, and ways to control them, for over 100 years.
This webinar presents a review of WCR biology, the history of corn rootworm as a pest species and the WCR's adaptation to crop rotation that began in Illinois. The use of Bt-transgenic corn for rootworm management is introduced along with assumptions about WCR behavior in refuge and Bt corn. Data on WCR behavior and mating in several different configurations of refuge and Bt- corn are presented to illustrate how the placement of refuge affects the biology and ecology of mating WCR beetles.
Corn Rootworms and Bt Corn
Direct link to video
Published Date: July 28, 2011
Corn Rootworm on the rebound?
Published Date:July 18, 2011
After a couple of years with low levels of damage from Western Corn Rootworms, INHS Insect Behaviorist Joe Spencer and his colleagues have found significant damage to roots and a higher level of adult emergence compared to last year.
For more information: Farms.com
Published Date: July 18, 2011
Japanese Beetles thrive in human landscapes
Published Date:July 18, 2011
According to INHS Entomologist Chris Dietrich, Japanese Beetles are generalists and will eat approximately 300 different types of plants, which is not unusual for an introduced species. Human lawns make perfect habitat for the grubs which feed on the roots of grass, but killing the grubs will do little, as adults will fly in from other yards.
Springfield Journal Register
Published Date: July 18, 2011
Swarms of mayflies are short-lived
Published Date:July 6, 2011
INHS Entomologist Chris Dietrich was interviewed about the infestation of mayflies long the Illinois River this week. After spending most of their life in the water, they emerge en masse, overwhelming predators, mate and then die, typically within 24 hours.
According to Dietrich, mayflies are an environmental indicator for our rivers, so large numbers of them is a good thing.
Read the Peoria Journal Star article
Published Date: July 6, 2011
INHS Botanist Bill Handel talks about medicinal plants
Published Date:July 1, 2011
INHS Botanist Bill Handel was featured on WCIA's "In the Garden" segment on Thursday, June 30th showcasing the medicinal plant garden he helped create at Spurlock Museum.
Watch the video
Spurlock Museum Website
Published Date: July 1, 2011
Deer ticks more adaptable than previously known
Published Date:June 28, 2011
Deer ticks, the host species for Lyme disease, feed on a variety of animals, with white footed mice (a forest species) as the main reservoir for the disease causing bacteria.
INHS Wildlife Epidemiologist Nohra Mateus-Pinilla, graduate student Jennifer Rydzewski and Richard Warner (NRES) found that the highest prevalence of infection at Allerton Park was from the prairie, with prairie voles as the reservoir.
"What's exciting about the new findings is that we are dealing with potentially new mechanisms of disease transmission that we just have not explored and perhaps we do not understand," Mateus-Pinilla said. "We need to think outside of what we already know about Lyme disease transmission."
Read the release from the News Bureau
Paper in Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases
Published Date: June 28, 2011
Periodical Cicadas emerge in Central Illinois
Published Date:June 24, 2011
That loud buzzing heard across the southern half of Illinois this month? It's the mating calls of periodical cicadas emerged after spending 13 years underground.
Most cicada species emerge after 2 to 5 years, but some species have longer cycles and emerge en masse. According to INHS Entomologist Chris Dietrich we are should consider ourselves fortunate to have those loud inundations of periodical cicadas. "Illinois has five different (periodic) broods, two 13-year and three 17-year," he said. "We're kind of lucky. We get to see them more often than people further west. Cicadas are found mostly in the tropics, but there are 25 to 30 species in Illinois and close to 100 in the U.S."
News Gazette article
For more on periodical cicadas, read the INHS Blog post from May of 2011.
Published Date: June 24, 2011
Vector mosquitoes detected earlier than expected
Published Date:June 21, 2011
INHS Medical Entomologist Richard Lampman was featured on a News Channel 15 story about mosquitoes. Because of all of the rain, the "nuisance" mosquito population is expected to be above average. The recent hot dry weather has resulted in "vector" or disease-carrying mosquito eggs being found earlier than expected this year.
Video
Published Date: June 21, 2011
INHS Waterfowl data used to set hunting seasons
Published Date:June 20, 2011
Aerial surveys conducted by INHS Waterfowl Ecologist Aaron Yetter are being used to help determine the waterfowl hunting seasons for the next 5 years.
"Aerial waterfowl surveys conducted by Aaron Yetter of the Illinois Natural History Survey show limited numbers of ducks in the Upper and Lower Mississippi Area near the proposed start date of the North Zone season. The Upper Mississippi area, which includes Keokuk, Iowa, Nauvoo and the Keithsburg Refuge, showed 1,160 ducks on Oct. 11 and 2,335 ducks on Oct. 18, according to the 2010 survey. On Nov. 2, just days after the Central Zone opener, surveys showed 22,470 ducks in the area.
The same movements are reflected in the Lower Mississippi region, which includes Swan Lake, Cannon Refuge and Shanks Refuge. On Oct. 11, there were 10,280 ducks counted. On Oct. 18, there were 35,555 ducks. On Nov. 2 there were 81,765 birds. On Nov. 16, there were 171,970.
One reason hunters would favor an earlier start to the season would be to avoid the late-season freeze that often negates the final week or two of hunting."
Herad-Whig story on IDNR Proposal
Published Date: June 20, 2011
What do free-roaming cats do when we aren't looking?
Published Date:June 9, 2011
A team of University of Illinois researchers, including INHS Wildlife Veterinary Epidemiologist Nohra Mateus-Pinilla and Mammalogist Ed Heske, conducted a two-year radio telemetry and activity tracking project on 42 adult cats in Central Illinois to answer that question.
They found that pet cats spent only 3 percent of their time engaged in highly active pursuits, such as running or stalking prey while un-owned (feral) cats were highly active 14 percent of the time.
Even feral cats stayed near human structures, according to Mateus-Pinilla. "That shows that even though they're feral, they still have a level of dependency on us."
Co-author Richard Warner told the U of I News Bureau that although pet cats had relatively small ranges and were active less of the time, their impact on wildlife in the immediate vicinity of their homes is likely much more intense than that of a feral cat that wanders over a larger territory.
Watch Duncan the Cat get a radio collar
The study, "Home range, habitat use, and activity patterns of free-roaming domestic cats"
by Jeff A. Horn, Nohra Mateus-Pinilla, Richard E. Warner, and Edward J. Heske, was published in The Journal of Wildlife Management.
Read the Article in Journal of Wildlife Management
Published Date: June 9, 2011
Bumper crop of mosquitoes, but not West-Nile Virus, yet
Published Date:June 7, 2011
According to INHS Medical Entomology Director Ephantus Juma Muturi, despite the large number of mosquitoes out now, the level of West-Nile Virus is still very low. The optimal breeding environment for West-Nile Virus bearing mosquitoes is dry, warmer weather, when the larvae are not washed away by heavy rains.
Chicago Tribune Article
Published Date: June 7, 2011
Conservation efforts work to improve migratory bird habitat
Published Date:June 6, 2011
INHS Ornithologist TJ Benson was quoted in a Chicago Tribune article about migratory birds and bird habitat restoration projects in the Chicagoland area. Benson says that there has been a decrease in shrub land birds over the past century and that studies are currently being done with miniature video cameras to document predation on these birds.
Chicago Tribune Article
Published Date: June 6, 2011
Slow Spring for Soybean Aphids
Published Date:June 1, 2011
INHS Entomologist Dave Voegtlin conducted his annual spring survey for soybean aphids on buckthorn in Indiana and Michigan. He found the majority of locations had no soybean aphids and only a few sites had low numbers of colonies.
Read about Soybean Aphid numbers in other states
Published Date: June 1, 2011
Cats pass disease to wildlife, even in remote areas
Published Date:May 13, 2011
INHS Wildlife Veterinary Epidemiologist Nohra Mateus-Pinilla and graduate students Shannon Fredebaugh recently published a study that found that even in remote parts of a natural area, cats spread disease to wildlife. Their study, Allerton Park in Monticello, does not have bobcats which strongly suggests feral house cats are responsible for spreading the feline dependent Toxoplasma gondii parasite. Infection by the parasite causes neurological problems and possible death in humans and other animals.
"If one infected cat defecates there, any area can become infected," Fredebaugh said. "It just takes one cat to bring disease to an area."
For more information:
Read the paper in Journal of Wildlife Disease
Read the News Release
View a slideshow of the research project
Other sources picking up the story:
Published Date: May 13, 2011
Introducing the Prairie Research Institute - new home of the State Scientific Surveys
Published Date:May 12, 2011
This past week, the Institute of Natural Resource Sustainability officially became the Prairie Research Institute.
A Message from Executive Director Bill Shilts
We are pleased to announce that the Institute of Natural Resource Sustainability is now officially the Prairie Research Institute at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. This name change is an important milestone for the Institute as we complete our third successful year as one of the largest Institutes in the University. We remain the home of the Illinois Scientific Surveys, but the new Prairie Research Institute name gives the Surveys' diverse, collective research activities an appropriate geographical context. The name is unique within the University but with a strong connection to the State of Illinois which we serve. The Prairie Research Institute name is distinctive, appropriate, and timeless.
Published Date: May 12, 2011
INHS scientists teach students about conservation
Published Date:May 12, 2011
Moultrie County 4th graders learned about Conservation at the Moultrie County 4-H Fairgrounds, with the help of INHS scientists. Tara Beveroth taught about birds and research techniques, Jean Mengelkoch taught about bats and endangered species, while Jen Mui and Patty Dickerson brought the Traveling Science Center with its display about Biodiversity and Exotic Invasive Species.
Watch the video from the Decatur Herald and Review
Published Date: May 12, 2011
A Minute With Ed Heske about White Nose Syndrome in bats
Published Date:May 12, 2011
INHS Mammal Ecologist was interviewed about White Nose Syndrome, a fungus spreading west across the United States, which affects bats. Bats are important predators of pest insects and many ecological questions related to how this typically fatal infection will impact predation rates, pesticide use, etc remain to be answered.
Read the complete interview in "A Minute With..."
Published Date: May 12, 2011
Brown Marmorated Stink Bug in Illinois
Published Date:May 2, 2011
The Brown Marmorated Stink Bug is a new invasive species being found in Illinois that is getting a lot of media attention.
INHS Entomologist Chris Dietrich discussed the bugs in the Geneva Republican, stating that with no natural predators, these bugs can become a nuisance species. He adds that, “They’re actually considered a delicacy in some parts of Mexico.”
Illinois Cooperative Agriculture Pest Survey Entomologist, Kelly Estes was interviewed about the bugs on WGLT - Bloomington NPR affiliate and WILL 580. This species has been confirmed in Cook, Kane, Champaign and McLean counties but scientists are still determining the extent of its spread. She asks that if you think you have this (or other pest species) send her a photo or the actual specimen for positive identification. She can be contacted at invasives@inhs.illinois.edu.
For more information on Brown Marmorated Stink Bugs:
Published Date: May 2, 2011
INHS Corps of Discovery students document the restoration of Emiquon
Published Date:May 1, 2011
In 2005, The Nature Conservancy began a project to reclaim a 6,900 acre piece of land along the Illinois River, the largest reclamation area in the United States outside of the Everglades. That same year, INHS biologists Michael Jeffords, Susan Post and Carie Nixon trained a group of citizens, The Emiquon Corps of Discovery, to aesthetically document the changes in that landscape as farmland gave way to wetlands, using photography, sketch journals, creative writing and watercolors.
"People can look back and they might not think of these as very valuable artistic pieces in themselves. They will see them as a record of change." - Nancy Jones, ECOD member
The Return of the Emiquon
INHS Corps of Discovery Homepage
Published Date: May 1, 2011
Bearded crayfish species - what else is out there?
Published Date:May 1, 2011
INHS Astacologist Chris Taylor was interviewed by On Earth about the new species of "bearded" crayfish he described earlier this year. He described crayfish as "one of the most important, if not the most important link" between primary producers (which they eat), and predators like fish and birds (which eat them)
He added that uncovering a new species in a well studied area "just reinforces the point that we don't know everything about these aquatic ecosystems, and that there are still discoveries to be made."
Read the complete article
Published Date: May 1, 2011
Dinosaurs may have had lice
Published Date:April 7, 2011
A recent article in Biology Letters, authored by INHS Ornithologist Kevin Johnson and his colleagues Vincent S. Smith, Tom Ford, Paul C. D. Johnson, Kazunori Yoshizawa and Jessica E. Light, reveals that the ancestors of the lice found on modern day birds and mammals began to diversify prior to the mass extinction of the dinosaurs at the Cretaceous–Palaeogene boundary, 65 million years ago.
Johnson said, “given how widespread lice are on birds, in particular, and also to some extent on mammals, they probably existed on a wide variety of hosts in the past, possibly including dinosaurs.” This study also revealed that, "based on the evidence from lice, the radiation of birds and mammals was already under way before the dinosaurs went extinct.”
Read the press release
Links to websites carrying the story
Link to article in Biology Letters
Published Date: April 7, 2011
Mosquito larvae exposed to stress may be better able to transmit viruses
Published Date:April 7, 2011
In a recently published article in Vector Borne and Zoonotic Diseases, INHS Medical Entomologists Ephantus J. Muturi and Barry Alto revealed that exposing mosquito larvae to temperature and insecticide stress may actually increase their ability to transmit viruses.
At 30°C but not at 20°C, Ae. aegypti larvae exposed to insecticide were more likely to transmit the virus compared to control treatments.
These findings suggest that environmental factors experienced by aquatic stages of mosquitoes contribute to the risk of arbovirus transmission.
View abstract
Published Date: April 7, 2011
INHS Macroinvertebrate Biologist Steve Taylor discovers new species of freshwater shrimp
Published Date:March 30, 2011
INHS Macroinvertebrate Biologist Steve Taylor and John Holsinger (Old Dominion University) described a new species of amphipod, the White Pine Amphipod (Stygobromus albapinus) known only from one cave in Great Basin National Park, Nevada. Less than 5mm long, these tiny, eyeless crustaceans were collected from the mud and silt at the bottom of a subterranean pool. The park superintendent believes the new discovery highlights the importance of protecting unimpaired habitats. Steve Taylor said, "Because they are in water and water is scarce, they are vulnerable to changes in water use practices." Further surveys of the invertebrates in these remote habitats are sure to reveal additional undescribed species.
News Release
YubaNet article
KSL News Radio
Deseret News
The Republic
Download the full paper from Subterranean Biology
Published Date: March 30, 2011