Prairie Research Institute News

Survey finds farmers feel responsibility to protect land and waters

May 31, 2017 8:00 am

Agricultural producers are typically blamed for applying fertilizer that pollutes local waters and carries oxygen-depleting nitrogen and phosphorus to the northern Gulf of Mexico. However, a strong majority of Illinois farmers believe they are doing their part to protect the environment, according to a study from the University of Illinois’ Prairie Research Institute (PRI).

Scientists find world’s oldest fossil mushroom

Jun 7, 2017 4:30 pm

Roughly 115 million years ago, when the ancient supercontinent Gondwana was breaking apart, a mushroom fell into a river and began an improbable journey. Its ultimate fate as a mineralized fossil preserved in limestone in northeast Brazil makes it a scientific wonder, INHS scientists report in the journal PLOS ONE.

New science shows intense harm caused by fishing for nesting bass

Jun 12, 2017 12:30 pm

Angling for nesting bass during the spawning season decreases lake wide recruitment of bass, according to a massive 22-year study by INHS researcher David Philipp.

INHS Reports: Angler survey on Lake Michigan fishing

Jun 15, 2017 12:00 pm

INHS researchers examined Lake Michigan fishing from social and economic perspectives. They surveyed anglers to collect information about angler expectations and needs in the Lake Michigan fishery and to ascertain the economic importance of fishing as a recreational activity.

Bird gets worm, makes history

Jun 19, 2017 8:45 am

Illinois Natural History Survey postdoctoral researcher Loren Merrill describes how he observed the unusual behavior of a pied-billed grebe from his balcony, leading to an insight published in the Wilson Journal of Ornithology.

Researchers sample a DC swamp to study a spineless creature

Jun 19, 2017 9:45 am

INHS ecologist Matthew Niemiller led a recent study that used an environmental DNA approach to search for Hay’s Spring amphipod in its Rock Creek Park home. “It’s not a cute, cuddly or charismatic species. But we’re still learning more and more about groundwater ecosystems. And there is evidence that these crustaceans are important indicators of groundwater quality, and may play important roles in water purification and nutrient cycling over time.”

Zebra finch study finds mixed impact of early-life stress

Jun 19, 2017 10:45 pm

A bout of early-life stress can have lifelong impacts on two key signals that help male zebra finches attract mates: beak color and song complexity. But rather than being uniformly negative, a recent study published in Functional Ecology found that the consequences of stress are mixed. Stressed males wind up with duller, less colorful beaks but sing more complex songs.

Brian D. Anderson retires from PRI

Jul 10, 2017 12:15 pm

On July 8 Prairie Research Institute staff and supporters gathered to bid a fond farewell to Brian D. Anderson, who retired from PRI at the end of June after serving as director of the Illinois Natural History Survey and interim director of PRI.

INHS Reports: Fighting the spread of aquatic invasive species in the marketplace

Jul 14, 2017 8:00 am

Aquatic invasive species are non-native organisms that harm the environment, economy, or human and livestock health. Illinois is especially vulnerable to aquatic invaders. Harmful effects of aquatic invasive species that reside in the lake include the multimillion dollar annual cost to industry and water utilities, reduced recreational activities, and degrading native habitats. One way that aquatic invaders are introduced to the Great Lakes region is through the buying and selling of species.

Free workshops give adults a chance to learn to hunt game, waterfowl

Jul 20, 2017 3:00 pm

A new program developed by the Illinois Natural History Survey with support from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources aims to encourage more adults to hunt. The Hunter Recruitment Program is offering a series of free workshops around the state, giving new hunters an opportunity to learn from experienced mentors and to get hands-on experience hunting for deer, turkey, squirrels, pheasants, ducks, geese and other game.

Turning the tables: Application of commercial fishing helps fight the spread of Asian carp

Aug 15, 2017 10:00 am

The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) is using federal funding from the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative to help Illinois’ commercial fishermen suppress the exploding invasive carp population. The project—which brings together multiple agencies and Illinois universities, including the Illinois Natural History Survey and the University of Illinois—is a complex undertaking involving the newest technology in bubble, sound, and electric barriers and fish-counting sonar, coupled with centuries-old stalwarts such as gill nets.

Study links fish stress hormones to whether they take the bait

Aug 22, 2017 11:00 am

Take a fish out of water and its stress hormones will go up. Adrenaline and noradrenaline, the “fight or flight” hormones, peak first, followed more gradually by cortisol. A new study reported in the Journal of Experimental Biology finds that largemouth bass whose cortisol levels rise most after a brief bout of stress are inherently harder to catch by angling. This could affect recreational fishing. If anglers are primarily capturing fish whose stress levels dictate whether they are likely to strike at a lure, “we could potentially be selecting for fish that are harder to catch,” said University of Illinois natural resources and environmental sciences professor Cory Suski, who led the new research with Illinois Natural History Survey research scientist Jeffrey Stein and graduate student Michael Louison.

INHS and IDNR survey mussels in the Kishwaukee River

Aug 23, 2017 4:45 pm

The Kishwaukee River basin in northern Illinois remains one of the most mussel-rich resources in the state. In 2012, the INHS Urban Biotic Assessment Program began studying the fishes, reptiles, amphibians, and mollusks of the Kishwaukee River along the Illinois Tollway I-90 overpass. In 2015 UBAP began a longterm monitoring program of the mussel population at the site. Each August, a team of researchers from INHS, IDNR, and local land management agencies descends on the same location and intensively samples the mussels in the area over the course of a week.

Researchers survey and study mosquito vectors for the Zika virus in Illinois

Sep 7, 2017 9:15 am

Researchers at the Illinois Natural History Survey are surveying and collecting adult female mosquitoes in Illinois and testing how effective insecticides are against them, particularly the Asian tiger mosquito, a species capable of transmitting the Zika virus.

Healthy deer. Photo by Susan Post, INHS.

Chronic wasting disease in Illinois: resources and disease dynamics

Sep 13, 2017 5:30 pm

Protecting the deer herd from chronic wasting disease has economical value to the State of Illinois, recreational value to deer hunters, and a health value for CWD-susceptible animals. Currently, there is no treatment or vaccination against CWD. Management based on removal of infected deer in areas where disease is present is the only known strategy to control the spread of CWD.

INHS seeks principal research scientist and director

Sep 21, 2017 8:15 am

The Illinois Natural History Survey seeks a principal research scientist who will develop and manage a research program, while also serving as director of INHS, providing leadership, direction, and overall administration for the development, coordination, and implementation of scientific research and service programs undertaken and provided by INHS.

Researchers suspect that nightjars are declining in Illinois

Sep 25, 2017 1:45 pm

Although the Eastern Whip-poor-will is rarely seen, its distinct call occasionally can be heard in forests from dusk until dawn. Once common, Whip-poor-wills and other nocturnal nightjar species are disappearing from Illinois forests as their habitats shrink and change, according to data from the Illinois Natural History Survey (INHS), a division of the University of Illinois’ Prairie Research Institute.

12-year-old pursues love of paleontology by volunteering in INHS lab

Oct 2, 2017 8:30 am

It's not unusual to find 12-year-old Reagan Lee in the INHS paleontology lab on a Saturday, scanning for fossils embedded in chunks of amber from the Dominican Republic.

Mentors and students at the end of the workshop.

Mentors help Illinois students learn to hunt at workshop

Oct 2, 2017 1:15 pm

Seventeen University of Illinois students developed their hunting skills at a free two-day workshop at Allerton Park in September. The workshop was part of a statewide program developed by the Illinois Natural History Survey with support from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources; the goal is to encourage more Illinoisans to participate in hunting, an activity important to both the economy and ecosystems of Illinois.

Few hunters know how their duck stamp dollars are spent

Oct 6, 2017 9:15 am

Illinois hunters each pay $25 for an annual federal duck stamp to legally shoot waterfowl, yet few know how their money is used, according to a University of Illinois study.

Recorded bird calls entice warblers to nest in conservation areas

Oct 10, 2017 10:15 am

Some species of migrating songbirds return each year to their favorite summer home in the Midwest, where food and nesting sites are plentiful. A University of Illinois scientist and a biologist from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources found that recorded birdsongs could coax endangered Kirtland’s warblers to a new breeding site hundreds of miles from their usual destination for their own protection.

The best laid plans: Did insect resistance management hasten Bt resistance in western corn rootworm?

Oct 13, 2017 11:00 am

Illinois Natural History Survey scientists studied behaviors of the western corn rootworm to learn why the insect pests have developed a resistance to Bt corn hybrids, once a deterrent that was as effective as soil insecticides but without the human health risks and environmental concerns associated with broad-spectrum insecticides.

Researchers from the Illinois Natural History Survey use electricity to stun the fish for capture

Illinois sportfish recovery a result of 1972 Clean Water Act, scientists report

Oct 18, 2017 11:30 am

Populations of largemouth bass, bluegill, catfish and other sportfish are at the highest levels recorded in more than a century in the Illinois River, according to the Illinois Natural History Survey, which has surveyed fish there since 1957.

Anna Bengtson looks at tissues under a microscope

Undergrads choose their own adventure in this wildlife research group

Oct 20, 2017 1:15 pm

Don’t be fooled by the name: The wildlife and chronic wasting disease research group has a broader mission than you might think. Yes, the research focuses on white-tailed deer, primarily, and on CWD, a baffliing affliction of deer and elk. But for the dozens of undergraduate students who have joined this collaborative effort over the years, the group also is a portal, of sorts, to wide-ranging adventures in research. “More than 50 undergraduates have worked with us in the past 15 years. And most have gone on to successful careers,” said Nohra Mateus-Pinilla, a veterinary epidemiologist with the Illinois Natural History Survey who leads the effort with animal sciences professors Jan Novakofski and Michelle Green.

Serpents of the Badlands

Oct 24, 2017 1:30 pm

What's it like to hunt for sunning serpents with the wind whistling in your ears? Find out in this Behind the Scenes story by INHS conservation biologist Mark Davis.

Team finds first wild alligator snapping turtle in Illinois since 1984

Nov 13, 2017 9:30 am

Researchers report the first sighting in 30 years of a wild alligator snapping turtle in Illinois. The discovery may be a sign of hope for this state-endangered species, or the animal could be the last of its kind to have survived in Illinois without human intervention, the researchers say.

Exploring personality effects in largemouth bass

Nov 16, 2017 10:00 am

INHS studies have shown that largemouth bass have distinct personalities and that these different types affect predator-prey interactions and possibly habitat use. The explorers tend to have a relatively indiscriminant diet, consuming any prey they encounter, while non-explorers discriminate in their diet selections, focusing on the most profitable prey items.

Weightless in San Luis Potosi

Dec 21, 2017 10:15 am

Field biologist Jeremy Tiemann describes a recent trip to the Valles River basin in the Mexican state of San Luis Potosi to collect freshwater mussels.

INHS plant ecologist finds that many retailers sell mislabeled invasive vines

Jan 8, 2018 9:45 am

Gardeners hoping to celebrate the beauty of American bittersweet — a native vine that produces orange berries in the fall and is used for wreaths — may be unwittingly buying an invasive bittersweet instead. That’s because many Midwestern retailers are selling oriental bittersweet with labels misidentifying it as the native plant, researchers report.

Illinois stream fauna: A look back at pre-settlement biodiversity

Jan 16, 2018 9:00 am

INHS researchers used species record data from INHS research collections, other museums, and trusted sources to model and predict the historical distributions of three main aquatic groups—freshwater mussels, stoneflies, and fish.

Scientists find new fungi at the bottom of the Great Lakes

Jan 17, 2018 11:15 am

Far beneath the hulls of sailing ships on the Great Lakes are sediment habitats active with what may one day prove to be a priceless treasure. University of Illinois scientists hope that freshwater fungi inventoried in a new study might potentially contribute to a future treatment for childhood cancer.

Soil characteristics may be related to chronic wasting disease persistence, study finds

Feb 5, 2018 3:30 pm

Deer infected with chronic wasting disease are doomed to a slow and certain death, eventually wasting away as they lose the ability to eat and drink. There is no cure and no vaccine, and the number of infected deer continues to rise every year. But University of Illinois scientists recently published a new study that could help explain the movement of the disease across the landscape.

Few Chicagoland wetlands left without non-native species, study finds

Feb 23, 2018 12:30 pm

The wetlands in and around Chicago are overwhelmingly invaded by non-native plants, according to a new study by University of Illinois researchers. The study, which pulls together species occurrence data from over 2,000 wetlands in the urban region, is the first to describe wetland invasion patterns on such a large scale in the Chicagoland area.

Scientists seeking rare river crayfish aren't just kicking rocks

Feb 27, 2018 8:30 am

Carp play a role in disseminating plant seeds in the Illinois River

Feb 28, 2018 10:15 am

Soil temperatures this winter in Illinois were warmer than normal

Mar 1, 2018 3:15 pm

Tarantulas in a pickle jar

Mar 6, 2018 9:15 am

Tommy McElrath takes readers Behind the Scenes of the INHS insect collection. "Storing your dead tarantulas in a gallon-sized pickle jar is not the best solution to long-term preservation. Especially when those tarantulas are toe-tagged – like corpses in a morgue."

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