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Natural History Survey

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  • Six new rattlesnake species in Western United States

    Feb 9, 2016 8:00 am

    In a recently published paper, INHS Conservation Geneticist Mark Davis and colleagues recommended elevating several rattlesnake subspecies to full species status. The team collected data from 3000 individuals, measuring physical characteristics and analyzing genetic samples.

  • copperhead snake photo by Chuck Smith

    Severe drought shuts down reproduction in copperhead snakes, study finds

    Oct 29, 2019 8:15 am

    A long-term study of copperhead snakes in a forest near Meriden, Connecticut, revealed that five consecutive years of drought effectively ended the snakes' reproductive output.

  • 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.

  • people walk through a field of grass

    Searching for Turtles in a Sea of Grass

    May 17, 2018 2:45 pm

    Members of the INHS Population and Community Ecology Lab surveyed two of the largest known Ornate Box Turtle sites with the goal of finding, measuring, and marking as many turtles as possible.

  • Scouting for Black Cutworm Moth Larvae

    May 8, 2012 8:00 am

    Illinois Cooperative Agricultural Pest Survey Coordinator Kelly Estes advises that corn growers should begin inspecting for damage from Black Cutworm Moth larvae. Based on adult moth captures in March and April, larvae should be nearing the leaf-cutting stage. For more information, check out this Cutworm Fact Sheet.

  • Scientists use modeling techniques to tease out coyote and fox population trends in Illinois

    Aug 5, 2020 11:30 am

    Asking licensed Illinois trappers about their experiences and the numbers of coyotes and foxes they harvest is one way to discover animal population trends. The trick, though, is to account for trappers’ motivations that can be swayed by economic factors and weather.

  • hunting mourning doves

    Scientist studies support for non-lead ammunition in dove hunting

    Oct 3, 2023 2:15 pm

    A large majority of Illinois mourning dove hunters would oppose a state ban on lead shot when hunting doves, according to an Illinois Natural History Survey (INHS) survey focused on beliefs about lead vs. non-lead ammunition. Hunters who already use steel shot for hunting waterfowl because of federal restrictions are the group most likely to oppose these same restrictions when hunting doves.

  • Salt Fork in Champaign County

    Scientists take a historical look at fishes of Champaign County streams

    Mar 16, 2023 10:30 am

    Using data spanning 120 years, scientists in the Illinois Natural History Survey (INHS) have a unique view of long-term changes in stream fish populations and their habitats in Champaign County. The best news: several fish species that were last seen here in the 1960s have returned to the county, suggesting some streams are improving.

  • Scientists seeking rare river crayfish aren't just kicking rocks

    Feb 27, 2018 8:30 am

  • Scientists gear up to fight deadly snake fungal disease

    Jul 15, 2015 1:45 pm

  • Scientists foretell the fate of Illinois’ threatened and endangered plants in a changing climate

    Oct 11, 2019 8:00 am

    Scorching summers are predicted for Illinois’ future, threatening already vulnerable plant species. University of Illinois scientists have presented a new way to prioritize restoration efforts, not necessarily focusing on the most precarious plants.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • Scientists Debunk Myths about Illinois Bats

    Oct 27, 2016 8:00 am

    Bats, long associated with Halloween and tales of horror, have far more to fear from humans than we do from them. Researchers at the Illinois Natural History Survey (INHS), Prairie Research Institute, monitor bats statewide by capturing, identifying, and banding individuals in fine-meshed netting (mist nets) and collecting acoustic recordings of high-frequency bat calls.

  • Halloween Pennant (Celithemis eponina) Photo: Susan Post, INHS

    Scientists call for global effort to monitor odonate populations

    Sep 22, 2020 10:15 am

    INHS ecologist Jason Bried and more than 30 co-authors published an article calling for a worldwide effort to monitor not just locations but also quantities of Odonata species.

  • Science in support of the Forest Preserves of Cook County developing the Natural and Cultural Resources Master Plan

    Jan 12, 2015 10:15 am

  • Saving the Illinois cave amphipod

    Apr 21, 2010 4:30 pm

    Dr. Steve Taylor, INHS macroinvertebrate biologist, was interviewed for an article in the online magazine Smile Politely. The article discusses the habitat, range and human impacts that eventually placed the Illinois Cave Amphipod on the Endangered Species list in 1998.

  • Saving our natural heritage, one stopper at a time

    Dec 12, 2018 10:00 am

    The INHS Insect Collection holds more than 350,000 vials with more than 3 million insect and arthropod specimens inside. About 70 percent of these are in vials with stoppers that are – or could soon be – melting. A National Science Foundation grant supports our efforts to replace these stoppers and protect these specimens.

  • Safety in numbers for 13- and 17-year cicadas

    Jun 24, 2011 8:00 am

    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."

  • Rising temperatures could benefit the Snapping Turtle

    Mar 13, 2018 4:30 pm

    The size and quantity of eggs produced by the Common Snapping Turtle may vary with fall and spring temperatures, according to a new study by Earlham College and INHS researchers.

  • Restoration begins on Cook County Forest Preserve lands

    Jan 15, 2016 8:00 am

    The Prairie Research Institute, with researchers from INHS and our sister surveys, has helped the Forest Preserve District of Cook County identify areas for restoration under the Next Century Conservation Plan. Restoration on Deer Grove West in Palatine is underway.

  • Research team lead by INHS scientist receives award

    Apr 7, 2015 8:00 am

    Brenda Molano-Flores (INHS), colleagues, and graduate students received an Appreciation Award from the US Fish and Wildlife Service in recognition of their leadership in the conservation of natural resources in northwest Florida.

  • Research team examines incubation temperatures for robin eggs

    Mar 26, 2018 8:45 am

  • Research on diving ducks continues

    Apr 5, 2013 8:00 am

    Researchers at the INHS Forbes Biological Station have banded lesser scaup over the past two seasons to examine their use of restored habitats. Director Heath Hagy hopes to have funding to continue taking blood samples to look at metabolites and contaminants in the birds. “There are a lot of scaup here,” Hagy said. “We are catching 200-400 per day and we are only getting 10-20 recaptures, so there are a ton of birds out there."

  • Research finds that male largemouth bass should be released quickly

    Apr 16, 2014 8:00 am

    A recent study by INHS Sport Fisheries Ecologist Jeff Stein suggests that anglers involved in catch and release fishing should release male largemouth bass as quickly as possible to return to nest guarding. For more information, visit the Sportfish Ecology Lab website.

  • Researchers on a boat

    Research fieldwork comes with safety challenges

    May 31, 2022 8:45 am

    Prairie Research Institute (PRI) researchers and technicians may not know exactly which hazards they’ll face when they conduct fieldwork to study the natural world. What they do know is that there are plenty of dangers to prepare for as they start another field season.

  • Researchers track the secret lives of feral and free-roaming house cats

    Jun 9, 2011 4:00 pm

    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. The study, "Home range, habitat use, and activity patterns of free-roaming domestic cats" was published in The Journal of Wildlife Management.

  • Asian tiger mosquito

    Researchers track the invasive Asian tiger mosquito in Illinois

    Aug 26, 2022 1:30 pm

    The exotic Asian tiger mosquito, known to transmit diseases to humans, is more widespread in southeastern Illinois than previously realized, according to Illinois Natural History Survey (INHS) researchers who conducted a study on how invasive mosquito communities form and shift because of different land uses.

  • 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.

  • 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.

     

  • Matthew Niemiller

    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.”

  • Researchers rescued stranded mussels on the Vermilion River

    Aug 31, 2018 11:00 am

  • Researchers Reconstruct the Stonefly Fauna of Ohio

    Dec 13, 2016 8:00 am

    The aquatic nymphs of stoneflies are indicators of water and habitat quality and quantity. Loss of this habitat is resulting in rapid decline of many species, which are at serious risk of disappearing from agricultural and urban areas of the Midwest, according to Ed DeWalt, aquatic entomologist at the Illinois Natural History Survey, Prairie Research Institute, University of Illinois.

  • Researchers photograph bats under bridges with a borescope

    Oct 9, 2018 2:30 pm

  • Researchers need your brown marmorated stink bugs

    Oct 1, 2013 12:00 pm

    Fall is the time for many insects to start making their ways indoors for the winter. The brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB), Halyomorpha halys is believed to have been introduced from Asia and can be a pest on tress and crops. Researchers are still trying to determine the range of the BMSB and need your help. If you believe you have BMSB, we would be very interested in looking at it.

  • Researchers move endangered mussels to save them

    Sep 10, 2013 9:00 am
  • Researchers studied bobcat population in Wisconsin.

    Researchers find that data from hunters can help assess bobcat population

    Jun 11, 2020 12:00 pm

    Wildlife managers track animal groups to control populations and determine the number of permits provided to hunters and trappers each year. Whether data are taken from the forest or from hunter surveys, their accuracy is necessary to inform conservation, according to Javan Bauder, post-doctoral researcher at the University of Illinois’ Illinois Natural History Survey.

  • Researchers find link between avian malarial infections and body condition in migrating ducks

    Jun 13, 2018 4:15 pm

  • Researchers describe crayfish conservation concerns and strategies

    Jan 30, 2020 8:45 am

    Whether you call them crayfish, crawfish, or crawdad, this creature needs protection nationwide to prevent extinction, according to Chris Taylor, Illinois Natural History Survey curator at the University of Illinois. In a recent article published in the journal Hydrobiologia, Taylor and colleagues have outlined possible strategies for conservation practices to protect crayfish from invasive species, habitat changes, and potential overexploitation.

  • Report: Milkweed losses may not fully explain monarch butterfly declines

    Mar 13, 2017 8:00 am

    Steep declines in the number of monarch butterflies reaching their wintering grounds in Mexico are not fully explained by fewer milkweeds in the northern part of their range, researchers report in a new study.

  • Remnant prairies protected by railroads

    Oct 8, 2012 10:00 am

    INHS Plant Ecologist Bill Handel has been surveying railroad prairies for the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) for years. The data Handel and his colleagues at INHS gather are used by IDOT and other state agencies to protect native habitats when planning construction projects, mowing along roadways, and applying pesticides. 

  • Relationship between conservationists and Papua New Guinea villagers more than just monetary

    Dec 21, 2015 8:00 am

    INHS Post doctoral researcher Bridget Henning, had a paper published recently looking at market-based conservation in Papua New Guinea. Her research found that although villagers were concerned with the condition of the forest, they placed more emphasis on their relationship with conservationists, expecting conservationists to be present in the village, reciprocate their hospitality, participate in customary ceremonies, and respond to requests for material goods. This research explained that the relationship that maintained the conservation project was not market-based, it was a customary Melanesian exchange relationship that involved material goods, social interactions, and moral obligations.

  • 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.

  • Recent surveys find few of once-common bat species

    Sep 10, 2019 3:30 pm

    Bat species that used to be common in Illinois are scarce in recent surveys, sending up a red flag.

  • Rare shrimp found in Des Plaines River

    Feb 5, 2013 8:00 am

    INHS Astracologist Christopher Taylor and INHS Ichthyologist Emeritus Larry Page were interviewed about an unusual animal found during aquatic surveys in Lake County in NE Illinois. Lake County Forest Preserve staff turned up a "Palaemonetes kadiakensis," glass shrimp or Mississippi grass shrimp, whose range is typically further south. Taylor said that there are only five species of freshwater shrimp in North America and this particular species has adapted to live further north than the others. Page added that this species is usually found in cleaner streams, so this could be a good sign for the health of Des Plaines River.

  • Rare salamander sparks excitement in INHS herpetologists

    Nov 9, 2012 8:00 am

    INHS Herpetologist Chris Phillips was interviewed for a recent installment of Environmental Almanac. Phillips was contacted by a photographer who captured an image of an elusive, fully aquatic amphibian known as a siren, being eaten by a Great Blue Heron in Vermilion County. Sirens are known from southern Illinois but have never been detected by the extensive INHS herpetological surveys of Vermilion County over the past 20 years. Phillips said, "It goes to show you there are still some surprises out there for a herpetologist in the Midwest."

  • Purple martin migration behavior perplexes researchers

    Sep 30, 2019 9:15 am

    Purple martins will soon migrate south for their usual wintertime retreat, but this time the birds will be wearing what look like little backpacks, as scientists plan to track their roosting sites along the way.

  • Public symposium to coincide with Catalogue of Life global team meeting

    Nov 2, 2012 9:00 am
  • An eastern red bat.

    Project succeeds in increasing east-central Illinois bat population

    Oct 27, 2020 8:00 am

    Thirty minutes before sunset, Illinois Natural History Survey (INHS) scientists and volunteers set up chairs in the prairie grass at Coles County’s Warbler Ridge Nature Preserve, look up at the summer twilight sky, and wait for the bat show to begin. Soon, the bats emerge from their bat houses to feed and fly off into the night. A good showing of bats is exciting news for the scientists: bat-focused habitat conservation efforts have proven to be effective in attracting and nurturing bat populations, but this work can take time to pay off.

  • Program gathers data to combat tickborne disease in Illinois

    Mar 29, 2018 11:30 am