Illinois Natural History Survey News

Details of the summer sale can be found by viewing the following PDF link: http://www.inhs.illinois.edu/Temporary%20Items/Summer09SaleFlyer.pdf

There's a whole other world living and growing alongside Chicago's busy streets in Lake Michigan. Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant (IISG) and Illinois Natural History Survey (INHS) have teamed up to help acquaint local residents with this world as a part of the Museum of Science and Industry's "Science Saturdays."

"We hope to expose the public to some of the organisms living in the lake, how we sample them, what types of questions we are trying to answer, and what the answers mean for the management of the lake," said INHS aquatic ecologist Pat Charlebois.

The tour–directed towards those aged seven and up–will be held on Saturday, July 18, from 9 a.m.-12 p.m. It will take place at North Point Marina in Winthrop Harbor, Illinois, where researchers from the Lake Michigan Biological Station, an INHS field station, will lead a shore-based exploration of aquatic life in Lake Michigan. Participants will have an opportunity to learn about–and at some stages touch–the invertebrates and offshore and nearshore fishes that inhabit the lake.

Science Saturdays are a part of a yearlong initiative, called Science Chicago, aiming to establish the crucial value of science and math in its residents. The museum initiative "brings together more than 140 of the area's leading academic, scientific, corporate, and non-profit institutions to host thousands of programs that provide hands-on learning, spur thoughtful debate, and build enthusiasm for the pursuit of cutting-edge science."

IISG, as a part of its on-going efforts to educate the public about water issues in the region, is organizing the Lake Michigan event. "We thought it would be a great opportunity to showcase the lake and the work that researchers at the Lake Michigan Biological Station are doing to understand more about it," said Charlebois.

All Science Saturday tours require advance registration; tickets cost $7 per tour. For more information on Science Saturday events visit http://www.sciencechicago.com/content/science-saturdays?m=06&y=2009.

Dr. Barry Alto, Director of the Medical Entomology Program at the Illinois Natural History Survey, has recently published an article in the British Ecological Society's Journal of Animal Ecology. This paper is the subject of a news release by the University of Illinois.

The news release can be read at the EurekaAlert website:
"Midge keeps invasive mosquito in check, aiding native mosquitoes."

INHS researcher Dr. Michael Ward is quoted in a State-Journal Register article on Wood ducks. Ward says that cleaner wetlands have helped to boost the year-round population of the ducks. Also mentioned in the article are the nest boxes that Frank Bellrose helped to craft.

The full-text of the article is available at the NewsBank website: Wood ducks are colorful characters

An article on Illinois Turtles appears in the May issue of Outdoor Illinois The article is written by Jim Lamer, Chad Dolan and John Tucker. Lamer and Dolan are former INHS employees. John Tucker is a herpetologist at the INHS' Great Rivers Field Station.

INHS botanists (Valerie Sivicek, Mary Ann Feist, Paul Marcum, Brenda Molano-Flores, Jason Zylka, and Greg Spyreas) and mammologists (Joyce Hofmann and Jean Mengelkoch) attended the 24 hour Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore BioBlitz May 15 and 16 2009, Indiana. This event was organized by The National Geographic Society and the National Park Service. During the event Mary Ann Feist led a fieldtrip to Pinhook Bog and Paul Marcum to Miller Woods. Joyce Hofmann and Jean Mengelkoch gave a program to the public about bats. The latest species tally for the Indiana Dunes Bioblitz is 1,716 and scientists are still identifying and adding species for this event. For more information on the Bioblitz see http://www.nationalgeographic.com/field/projects/bioblitz.html

INHS botanists (Rick Phillippe, Paul Marcum, Brenda Molano-Flores, Jason Zylka, Jamie Ellis, and Mary Ann Feist) conducted a one-day vegetation monitoring workshop at the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie, Will Co. Illinois May 19, 2009. A total of 16 volunteers attended the training. The ultimate goal of the workshop was to give volunteers real life experience in quantitative vegetation data collection and analysis. During the morning, volunteers were shown how to set up transects and plots and to determine percent cover for species and functional groups. During the afternoon, volunteers learned how to analyze and interpret the data they had collected. Volunteers expressed that knowing the dos and don’ts of collecting field data will be extremely helpful when they assist Midewn staff during vegetation sampling. They also commented that, although somewhat overwhelming, they now know how the data they will collect will be used to make management recommendations at the site. This event was sponsored by the Nature Conservancy and the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie.

Kristin TePas, Aquatic Nuisance Species Assistant Coordinator with the Illinois Natural History Survey's Lake Michigan Biological Station, is quoted in four articles describing the zebra mussel's appearance in Bartlet, IL at the Deep Quarry Lake. The appearance of the mussels in the lake is concerning to scientists as they are an invasive species, and have not previously been documented there.

The articles can be accessed via NewsBank:
Zebra mussels appear in DuPage County lake. Sun, The: Wheaton (IL) - Friday, May 8, 2009.

Musclin' in The Russians are here: Zebra mussels invade DuPage lake. Beacon News, The (Aurora, IL) - Thursday, May 7, 2009.

Zebra mussels muscle way into Bartlett. Courier News (Elgin, IL) - Wednesday, May 6, 2009.

Zebra mussels muscle into DuPage County. Naperville Sun, The (IL) - Wednesday, May 6, 2009.

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.