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Natural History Survey

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  • Some wildlife greatly affected by drought

    Aug 8, 2012 8:00 am

    Hot, dry temperatures have been a devastating problem for some species. INHS Avian Ecologist Jeff Hoover was interviewed for an article about the impact of this year's drought on songbirds. According to Hoover, caterpillar populations have been impacted by the drought, which means less food for the nestlings and more time spent foraging by adults. Their monitoring has shown a failure of 37% of nests this year, compared to 22% in 2010.

  • INHS Chief Dr. Lorin I. Nevling to Retire

    Nov 5, 1996 11:00 am

  • Bullfrogs insensitive to road salt

    Nov 6, 2013 8:00 am

    INHS post doctoral researcher Tanya Hawley Matlaga, INHS Herpetologist Chris Phillips, and INHS Ecotoxicologist David Soucek report that bullfrogs are less sensitive to elevated chloride concentrations than some other amphibian species. The study was designed to mimic the level of salt found in roadside ponds following de-icing events. The study found that bullfrog tadpoles did not experience reduced survival, growth, or ability to evade predation in elevated chloride concentrations, and thus, their populations are not expected to be impacted by road salt. While this is good news for bullfrogs, it's an additional stress for other species inhabiting ponds with these voracious predators.

  • Decline in waterfowl documented in Pool 19

    Nov 19, 2008 2:00 pm

    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. To learn more, visit the Newsbank article, "Not as many birds as in the past are landing in Pool 19."

  • INHS to host 100th Annual Meeting of the Illinois Academy of Science

    Dec 5, 2007 8:00 am

    INHS will host the 100th Annual Meeting of the Illinois State Academy of Science to be held on April 4-5, 2008. Academy members are invited to submit abstract abstracts of papers and posters for presentation in any of the recognized ISAS divisions. For more information on the event and submissions, please visit this website.

  • 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.

  • The Biology of Small Mammals published

    Mar 4, 2010 5:30 pm

    Dr. Joseph F. Merritt, INHS Mammalogist, is the author of The Biology of Small Mammals, published by the Johns Hopkins University Press. The book covers  small mammals, which are defined as weighing 11 pounds and under. The book, 336 pages long, also includes black and white photographs and illustrations. It can be ordered from amazon.com.

  • Casting a net for conservation

    Mar 22, 2017 8:00 am

    Go Behind the Scenes with graduate research assistant Benjamin Williams as he catches ducks and records data along the Wabash River.

  • Asian Carp barrier catches turtle

    Jun 14, 2012 8:00 am

    A barrier designed to prevent Asian Carp from reaching Lake Michigan had the unintended consequence of catching a snapping turtle. This was the first known instance of an animal trapped in the mesh and the turtle was released unharmed. When first installed, migrating turtles were completely blocked by the carp barrier. Subsequent gates installed along the length of the barrier allow turtles to migrate through. The location of the gates was based on the multi-year radio telemetry study conducted by INHS herpetologists on the endangered Blandings' Turtle and other turtles in the area.

  • Wendy Schelsky

    Wendy Schelsky named 2024-25 Emerging Research Leader

    Aug 13, 2024 10:45 am

    This prestigious award acknowledges researchers who show exceptional promise in their field and are positioned to significantly contribute to advancing health sciences. Wendy's selection for this honor highlights the importance of her work and the impact it has already made. It also reflects the high quality of research and innovation happening at PRI.This prestigious award acknowledges researchers who show exceptional promise in their field and are positioned to significantly contribute to advancing health sciences. Wendy's selection for this honor highlights the importance of her work and the impact it has already made. It also reflects the high quality of research and innovation happening at PRI.

  • Heavy rains wash away mosquito larvae, but mosquitoes repopulate standing waters

    Aug 16, 2011 8:00 am

    Entomologist Rich Lampman was interviewed by Chicago's CBS affiliate WBBM about mosquitoes.  According to Lampman heavy rains in northern Illinois in July may have flushed out larvae in standing water. Unfortunately, any puddles left over will be colonized by new mosquitoes. Dumping standing water every couple of days can help keep mosquito numbers down.

  • It's mussel time!

    Aug 30, 2018 8:30 am

  • Asian carp still doing well

    Sep 7, 2010 9:00 am

    Thad Cook, of the Illinois River Biological Station, took an impressive photo of carp that appeared in a web log of the Peoria Journal Star.

  • Cowbirds aren't just deadbeat parents

    Sep 10, 2015 8:00 am

    A new study from INHS graduate student Matthew Louder, and INHS Ornithologists Wendy Schelsky, Jeff Hoover, and Amber Albores found that female cowbirds monitor nest success of their offspring and will lay their eggs in the most successful host nests. This, combined with previous work by Jeff Hoover and colleagues, shows that female cowbirds aren't just abandoning their eggs in a host nest. Nests that fledged cowbirds were much more likely to be parasitized by cowbirds again than those that failed to fledge cowbirds.

  • Soybean Aphids setting up for potential comeback

    Oct 25, 2011 8:00 am

    INHS Entomologist David Voegtlin sampled soybean aphids this fall and found levels that could lead to higher densities of aphids on crops in 2012. In 2009, fall densities were extremely high and fungal infection wiped out large numbers of the aphids. This fall's lower humidity and lower density of aphids could lead to greater survival of overwintering aphids.

  • Making history on the mighty Mississippi

    Nov 5, 2006 4:30 pm
  • Man holding two large fungi

    North American checklist identifies the fungus among us

    Nov 28, 2018 9:15 am

    A new checklist of North American fungi published this month in the journal Mycologia “provides the basis for understanding our national mycoflora,” according to mycologist Andrew Miller, who led the effort to compile the data.

  • INHS macro-invertebratologist Steve Taylor illuminates the unique world of caves

    Dec 2, 2010 2:45 pm

    INHS Macro-Invertebrate Scientist and cave maggot namesake, Steve Taylor was featured in an article from the Illinois News Bureau. Read about his "more than two decades plumbing the mysteries of cave life," in articles by the U of I News Bureau and Physorg.com.

  • New fungal infection found in endangered Eastern Massasauga population

    Dec 16, 2011 8:00 am

    The long-term monitoring project of the endangered Eastern Massasauga population at Carlyle Lake has revealed a new species of fungal infection, which causes severe facial swelling, disfiguration and ultimately death. INHS Affiliate Dr. Matt Allender (University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine) is spearheading research on the fungus along with INHS Herpetologists Michael Dreslik, Sarah Wylie, Chris Phillips and Dan Wylie. By studying this infection they hope to develop methods for treatment and prevention.

  • INHS contributes to 70th annual Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference

    Dec 18, 2009 2:45 pm

    The 70th annual Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference was held in Springfield, IL during the first part of December 2009. Several INHS researchers, such as Dr. Steve Havera, Dr. John Epifanio and affiliate Dr. Jeff Brawn. The co-chair of the conference was Dr. Epifano, who said that more than 650 people were in attendance. Of those in attendance, 240 were students who had the option of attending any of the four sessions offered on networking, working in groups or mentoring.

  • Lice evolve faster than their primate hosts

    Jan 8, 2014 8:00 am

    INHS Psocodea expert Kevin Johnson and post doctoral researcher Julie Allen led a recently published study comparing the rate of evolution in primates with that in their louse parasites. This study is the first to look at the pace of molecular change across the genomes of different groups. Read LA Times article.

  • assassin bug fossil

    50 million-year-old fossil assassin bug has unusually well-preserved genitalia

    Jan 19, 2021 10:45 am

    The fossilized insect is tiny and its genital capsule, called a pygophore, is roughly the length of a grain of rice. It is remarkable, scientists say, because the bug’s physical characteristics – from the bold banding pattern on its legs to the internal features of its genitalia – are clearly visible and well-preserved. Recovered from the Green River Formation in present-day Colorado, the fossil represents a new genus and species of predatory insects known as assassin bugs.

  • Corn rootworm management webinar

    Feb 25, 2014 8:00 am

    INHS Behavioral Entomologist Joe Spencer presented a talk on "Rootworm Biology and Behavior" in the webinar "Corn rootworm Management in the Transgenic Era." Over 300 people attended this webinar, archived at the link below.

  • Buckeye butterfly

    Become a citizen scientist for pollinators with University of Illinois

    Mar 6, 2019 4:45 pm

    University of Illinois Extension is calling all lovers of bees, butterflies, and other pollinators that keep our crops and gardens growing to join scientists in tracking their distribution and habitat use across the state, from the comfort of your home, school, or community garden.

  • Illinois Natural Areas Inventory discovers new natural areas

    Mar 14, 2011 2:30 pm

    Illinois Natural History Survey scientists have spent the past three years evaluating thousands of sites across Illinois to assess their quality. Biologists have discovered approximately 185 more of these "beautiful little gems," as Randy Nyboer calls them, which were missed during the original inventory in 1978. The Inventory is used by the Nature Preserves Commission to determine protection and management of our remaining natural areas.

  • The extinction of the passenger pigeon

    Mar 25, 2014 8:00 am

    On Sept. 1, 1914, Martha, the last living passenger pigeon, died at the Cincinnati Zoo. This seemingly abundant bird had been decimated by hunting, leaving them vulnerable to other predators. Following the opening of an exhibit at the Harvard Museum of Natural History, INHS Ornithologist Kevin Johnson, who reconstructed the family tree of the passenger pigeon, was interviewed.

  • New study reveals evolutionary patterns of grasshoppers, crickets, and katydids over the past 300 million years

    Apr 8, 2015 8:00 am

    INHS Orthoperterist and Paleontologist Sam Heads was co-author on a recently published study determining the evolutionary relationships of the grasshoppers, katydids, and crickets. The current study is based on genetics rather than morphological characteristics.

  • Where the wild turkeys aren't

    May 12, 2017 8:00 am

    The wild turkeys have not been cooperating with avian ecologist Christine Parker as she attempts to catch, weigh, measure, and fit them with micro-GPS units to learn about their habits.

  • Deer ticks more adaptable than previously known

    Jun 28, 2011 2:00 pm

    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."

  • Negative image aside, Asian carp are a boon

    Aug 18, 2011 8:00 am

    Although there is widespread concern about the spread of Asian Carp, for some people, they represent a new industry and economic boon. Asian Carp harvest has increased thirtyfold in the past ten years. In 2010, a fisheries company in Thomson IL sold 20 million pounds of Asian carp to consumers globally. According to Greg Sass, director of the INHS Illinois River Biological Station, that while Asian Carp represent 80% of fish in parts of the Illinois River, scientific research has not yet established a direct connection between the presence of Asian Carp and the decline of native species.

  • male and female cowbird on a fence

    Illinois study finds surprising level of monogamy among cowbirds

    Oct 2, 2019 9:00 am
  • Craig Miller stands in a fall forest

    Craig Miller describes risks of lead ammunition

    Nov 13, 2020 12:15 pm

    Illinois Natural History Survey human dimensions scientist Craig Miller spoke to News Bureau life sciences editor Diana Yates about the risks associated with using lead ammunition in hunting.

  • Native birds as biological controllers of Emerald Ash Borer Beetles?

    Dec 20, 2013 8:00 am

    INHS Ornithologist Chris Whelan is a co-author on a recent publication reporting that woodpeckers may be helpful in controlling Emerald Ash Borer Beetles. Their study found that bark foraging birds, such as woodpeckers, foraged more heavily on ash trees and preferred ash trees with visible canopy decline over healthy trees. "Predation by bark-foragers significantly reduced tree-level EAB densities by upwards of 85%." The authors conclude that enhancing habitat for woodpeckers and other bark foragers may help control infestations and create more resilient forests.

  • 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.

  • Tiemann snorkels in Rio Valles

    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. 

  • New species of springtail named for resemblance to Lord of the Rings villain

    Dec 30, 2014 8:00 am

    INHS Entomologist Felipe Soto-Adames and colleagues described a new species of Collembola, Trogolaphysa sauron. It is named for the dorsal pattern's resemblance to the helmet of Sauron, a character in Lord of the Rings, as represented in Peter Jackson's 2001 film. Their paper, released this week by the Journal of Insect Science, revises the taxonomy of the subfamily Paronellinae and describes the new species.

  • Digitization Project Finds Anthrax Samples in Collections

    Mar 30, 2016 8:00 am

    When anthrax became a household name in 2011, even curators of some herbaria were unaware that samples of Bacillus anthracis, the source of anthrax, had been housed in their microfungal collections for more than a hundred years. Recently, a digitization project at the Illinois Natural History Survey unearthed the whereabouts of historical samples, including one at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

  • INHS scientists teach students about conservation

    May 12, 2011 9:00 am

    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.

  • Asian tiger mosquito

    Asian tiger mosquito gains ground in Illinois

    Jun 4, 2020 8:15 am

    Researchers report that the Asian tiger mosquito, Aedes albopictus, has become more abundant across Illinois in the past three decades. Its spread is problematic, as the mosquito can transmit diseases–like chikungunya or dengue fever–to humans.

  • Over time, an invasive plant loses its toxic edge

    Sep 1, 2009 4:15 pm

    Dr. Richard Lankau and plant ecologist Greg Spyreas, both of the Illinois Natural History Survey, just published an article in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) about the potency of garlic mustard over time. Garlic mustard is an invasive species that injects a toxin into the soil. Research conducted by INHS researchers indicates that over time the toxin becomes less potent.

  • 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. 

  • 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.

  • Cultivating Innovation: The Intersection of Geography, Climate, and Agricultural Research in Illinois

    Jan 31, 2024 8:45 am

    Since its inception in 2008, the Prairie Research Institute has conducted long-term monitoring of Illinois’ water, soil, and climate. These data, including growing and pest degree days, soil temperature and moisture, water table levels, and in-stream sediment, are used every day by thousands of Illinoisans and by the state’s agriculture, renewable energy, and construction industries.

  • Could Asian carp be competing for food with eagles?

    Feb 1, 2010 2:30 pm

    INHS Scientists Dr. Gregg Sass and Dr. John Chick were interviewed by Chris Young for an article that questions the cause of the decline of the Bald eagle, and other birds, at the Starved Rock Lock and Dam. One of the possible contributors to the decline may be due to the presence of Asian carp.

  • INHS botanists reconstruct 226 year history of fire in Southern Illinois

    Mar 14, 2011 4:45 pm

    By looking at the scars in the growth rings of 36 old-growth post oak trees, INHS botanist Greg Spyreas, affiliate John Ebinger and Illinois State Museum botanist William McClain found that there had been more than 100 fires in Southern Illinois between the 1770s and 1996. This repeated burning stabilized prairies and kept the woodlands open until the mid-1800s when fires appear to have been suppressed by the settlers in the area for a 30 year period. Fire suppression altered the plant community by allowing fast-growing, shade-loving species to survive. The study was published in the journal Castanea. Read news coverage of the story by the Science Blog, Science Codex, and Earth Times.

  • The insect now known as Kaikaia gaga, a new genus and species of treehopper.

    Grad student names new treehopper species after Lady Gaga

    Mar 16, 2020 9:00 am

    The insect now known as Kaikaia gaga represents a new genus and species of treehopper.

  • Taxonomists stand up and count your species

    Mar 27, 2007 10:15 am
  • female cowbird and male cowbird perched on wire fence

    Cowbirds change their eggs’ sex ratio based on breeding time

    Jun 24, 2020 9:15 am

    Brown-headed cowbirds show a bias in the sex ratio of their offspring depending on the time of the breeding season, researchers report in a new study. More female than male offspring hatch early in the breeding season in May, and more male hatchlings emerge in July.

  • Illinois Natural History Survey Mycologist Awarded $780,668 to Digitize Microfungi Collections

    Aug 25, 2015 8:00 am

    Illinois Natural History Survey Mycologist Andrew Miller was awarded a National Science Foundation Thematic Collections Networks (TCNs) grant to digitize microfungi collections.  Miller will lead the Microfungi Collections Consortium, a group of 38 institutions across 31 states, in their efforts to digitize the more than 1.2 million specimens including slime molds, smut fungi, and powdery mildew.  An additional 1.1 million existing records will also be added to the online portal known as the MyCoPortal (http://mycoportal.org/portal/index.php).

  • leopard resting in a tree

    Study finds Serengeti leopard population densities vary seasonally

    Aug 31, 2020 8:30 am

    A study of camera-trap data from Serengeti National Park in Tanzania found that leopard population densities in the 3.7-million-acre park are similar to those in other protected areas but vary between wet and dry seasons. The fluctuations appear to be driven by the abundance of prey and how this affects interactions with other large carnivores like lions.