blog posts

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  Congratulations to Sarah Douglass, 2024 Chancellor's Staff Excellence Award Winner

  Sep 13, 2024 8:45 am

  Sarah Douglass, an associate research scientist at the Prairie Research Institute since 2008, has significantly contributed to malacology and freshwater mussel conservation. As the head of the mollusk research program, she leads federally listed mussel research and employs eDNA methods for detecting rare species, tracking mussel movements, and long-term monitoring of mussel populations. Sarah's initiatives have enhanced lab efficiency, improved safety measures, and supported student and staff training. Douglass contributes to the university’s research and conservation efforts through her work, presentations, and involvement in statewide and regional conservation committees, supporting the Illinois Natural History Survey’s role in freshwater ecology. See Sarah talk about her work.

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  Conservation efforts help some rare birds more than others, study finds

  Jan 23, 2019 9:30 am

• Conservation efforts work to improve migratory bird habitat

  Jun 6, 2011 12:00 pm

  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.

• Contaminated sediments affecting wetland mice

  Feb 21, 2008 12:00 am

  Jeff Levengood and Ed Heske recently published an article entitled "Heavy metal exposure, reproductive activity, and demographic patterns in white-footed mice (Peromyscus leucopus) inhabiting a contaminated floodplain wetland" in Volume 389, Issues 2-3 of Science of the Total Environment.The article discusses the effects of using contaminated sediments from Lake DePue, Illinois to create a wetland that is home to white-footed mice. View the Science of the Total Environment article at ScienceDirect. Accessible through subscription only.

• Cool, Dry August for Illinois

  Sep 3, 2008 12:30 am

  August statewide precipitation was below normal, ending an eight-month streak of above-normal precipitation in Illinois that began in December 2007, according to State Climatologist Jim Angel of the Illinois State Water Survey (http://www.sws.uiuc.edu).

• Cool, Dry November Finishes with First Major Snow of the Season

  Dec 3, 2008 8:15 pm

  November in Illinois was both cooler and drier than normal. However, a low-pressure system at the end of the month brought the first significant snowfall of the season across northern and central Illinois, according to State Climatologist Jim Angel of the Illinois State Water Survey (http://www.isws.illinois.edu).

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  Cooler soil temperatures in mid-April

  Apr 18, 2018 8:45 am

• Cooler than Normal July Prevails

  Aug 3, 2007 7:45 pm

  "Statewide July temperatures averaged 73.5°F, 2.3°F below normal, and the 20th coolest July since 1895. While we had some hot days, Illinois generally managed to avoid the heat wave experienced out West during July," says State Climatologist Jim Angel of the Illinois State Water Survey (http://www.sws.uiuc.edu), a division of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.

• Cooler, Wetter Soils in Mid-May

  May 16, 2016 7:00 pm

  Soils were wetter and cooler than average over most of Illinois in mid-May, according to Jennie Atkins, Water and Atmospheric Resources Monitoring (WARM) Program manager at the Illinois State Water Survey, Prairie Research Institute, University of Illinois.

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  Cool fall temperatures continued in October

  Nov 3, 2020 1:00 pm

  October was much cooler than average across Illinois, 2.6 degrees below the 30-year normal for the month, according to Illinois State Climatologist Trent Ford at the University of Illinois’ Illinois State Water Survey. The preliminary statewide average October temperature was 51.8 degrees.

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  Cool, wet May ends wet spring

  Jun 2, 2020 9:00 am

  May was much colder and moderately wetter than average across Illinois, bringing an end to a wet climatological spring season. The preliminary statewide average May temperature was 60.5 degrees, 2.2 degrees below the 30-year normal and the 39th coldest on record. Preliminary statewide average total precipitation for May was 5.41 inches, 0.81 inches wetter than the 30-year normal and the 25th wettest on record.

• Cool, Wet Summer in Illinois

  Sep 2, 2009 11:00 am

  Based on preliminary data for Illinois, this was the 11th coolest and 8th wettest summer since statewide records began in 1895. The average temperature for June–August was 71.4 degrees, 2.4 degrees below normal. The total precipitation for June–August was 15.2 inches, 3.6 inches above normal, according to State Climatologist Jim Angel of the Illinois State Water Survey 

• Cool, Wet Weather Slows Northern and Central Illinois Planting

  May 3, 2007 8:15 pm

  "Combined with cooler temperatures, wet April conditions led to widespread corn planting delays in the northern two-thirds of the state, where precipitation averaged 4.05 inches (0.46 inches above normal) and up to 5–7 inches at some locations. April temperatures averaged 49.5°F statewide (2.7°F below normal), and statewide precipitation was 3.75 inches (just 0.05 inches below normal), based on preliminary data. Southern Illinois was drier, averaging 3.38 inches (0.74 inches below normal), and planting there is further along," says State Climatologist Jim Angel of the Illinois State Water Survey (http://www.sws.uiuc.edu), a division of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.

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  Cornboy vs. the Billion-Dollar Bug

  Feb 21, 2017 3:45 pm

  There is, despite the name, nothing urban about Piper City, Ill. It is a farm town with a skyline of grain elevators, a tidy grid of pitch-roofed houses and, a few blocks beyond, endless fields: corn, soybean, corn, soybean, corn, corn, corn, perfectly level, perfectly square, no trees, no cows, no hedgerows, no bare land. In late August of 2013, a man named Joseph Spencer followed a corn-flanked county road northwest from Piper City until his GPS advised him to leave the road altogether and turn onto a gravel track. Spencer, an entomologist who studies farm insects, was looking for a farmer named Scott Wyllie.

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  Corn fields add to muggy, humid Midwestern temps

  Jul 21, 2020 9:15 am

  It’s not just the heat; it’s the humidity and “corn sweat” making muggy Midwestern summers feel even hotter.

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  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.

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  Corn rootworm on the rebound?

  Jul 18, 2011 9:00 am

  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, visit Farms.com.

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  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.

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  Could Legionnaires' bacteria lurk in idled buildings?

  May 1, 2020 5:00 pm

  Many businesses are closed as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, and some building managers have shut off water and air conditioning to conserve resources. Warmth and lack of clean water flow can contribute to the growth of potentially dangerous microbes, including the bacteria that contribute to Legionnaires’ disease. ISTC chemist and industrial water treatment specialist Jeremy Overmann spoke with the News Bureau's Diana Yates about the problem and potential solutions.

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  Cowbird chicks do best with two warbler nest mates – not four, not zero, study finds

  Sep 15, 2022 10:15 am

  A new study seeks to understand the strategies cowbird chicks use to survive in prothonotary warbler nests when they hatch with different numbers of warbler nestlings. The study reveals that a cowbird chick does better with two than with four or zero warbler nest mates. 

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  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.

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  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.

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  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.

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  Crows are back, but West Nile Virus here to stay

  Dec 13, 2011 11:00 am

  During the years following the discovery of West Nile Virus in Illinois, Crow populations dropped from 300,000 to 110,000 birds. According to INHS Ornithologist Mike Ward, crows were highly susceptible to West Nile Virus, possibly because of their specialized immune systems and social lifestyle.  The cause of the rebound is not fully understood, but Ward stated that antibodies to fight off the virus have been discovered recently. Wet conditions during the summer may have also decresed breeding of the mosquito species that carries West Nile Virus.

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  Culling maintains low prevalence of Chronic Wasting Disease in deer populations

  Oct 21, 2013 8:00 am

  INHS Wildlife Epidemiologist Nohra Mateus-Pinilla and postdoctoral researchers Mary Beth Manjerovic and Michelle Green conducted research on the effectiveness of culling deer to prevent the spread of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD). CWD is a 100% fatal disease in deer, likened to Mad Cow Disease. Their paper compared the culling strategy used in Illinois to the two different management strategies used in Wisconsin over a decade. Listen to the interview on Focus 580.

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  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.

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  Danville, crow capital of the world

  Feb 1, 2013 8:00 am

  INHS Ornithologist Steve Bailey told the Chicago Tribune that Danville has "the largest winter roost of crows that we know about in the U.S. and Canada." Christmas Bird Counts found 121,500 crows, whereas a year ago, the count was 238,000. INHS Affiliate Mike Ward added that the drought caused a resurgence of West Nile virus, to which crows are particularly vulnerable. Crows rebound well, which might be bad news for the residents of Danville who have unsuccessfully tried many things including trucks with a "cannon" booming to scare the birds.

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  Data analysis paints a clearer picture of translocation success among black bears

  Aug 25, 2020 11:00 am

  Javan Bauder and Max Allen analyzed data from 1,462 translocations of 1,293 black bears in Wisconsin from 1979 to 2016, evaluating translocation success of black bears across Wisconsin.

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  Database reveals locations of sinkholes, crevices, and mines in Jo Daviess County

  May 18, 2023 8:45 am

  A new database compiling information from a decade of Prairie Research Institute (PRI) studies on the unique geology and hydrology of Jo Daviess County is designed to help residents and officials understand the karst features of the land where they live and to better protect their water supply from surface contamination.

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  Data from landmark Illinois Basin carbon storage project are now available

  Mar 10, 2022 8:30 am

  The first-of-its-kind Illinois Basin – Decatur Project (IBDP), which concluded in 2021 after successfully demonstrating the safe geologic storage of carbon dioxide, is releasing data sets in two easily accessible locations.

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  Data from the sky inform flood planning

  Jun 21, 2022 8:00 am

  CHAMP is at the helm of one of the largest 2D models in Illinois, spanning five southern Illinois counties – Johnson, Pope, Massac, Pulaski, and Alexander. The extremely flat topography of this region, known as the Cache River Valley, follows the Cache River system and the historic path of the Ohio River that’s been heavily manipulated by humans over time.

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  Decadeslong effort revives ancient oak woodland

  Oct 29, 2020 9:30 am

  Vestal Grove in the Somme Prairie Grove forest preserve in Cook County, Illinois, looks nothing like the scrubby, buckthorn-choked tangle that confronted restoration ecologists 37 years ago. Thanks to the efforts of a dedicated team that focused on rooting up invasive plants and periodically burning, seeding native plants and culling deer, the forest again resembles its ancient self, researchers report in the journal PLOS ONE.

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  Decades of mapping data builds highest resolution of earthquake risk yet

  Jul 10, 2017 4:00 pm

• Decades-old amber collection offers new views of an ancient world

  Jul 30, 2015 1:45 pm

• December 2010 in Illinois–Cold and Snowy

  Jan 3, 2011 12:30 am

  The statewide average temperature for December was 24.0 degrees, which is 5.8 degrees below normal. This ranks as the 12th coldest December on record, according to State Climatologist Jim Angel of the Illinois State Water Survey (http://www.isws.illinois.edu).

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  December 2021 was exceptionally warm

  Jan 5, 2022 8:45 am

  Provisional data show December was among the top 5 warmest on record in Illinois, with no snow on Christmas.

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  December average temperature in top three for Illinois

  Jan 3, 2024 9:30 am

  Preliminary reports showed that December 2023 was the third warmest December on record, according to Illinois State Climatologist Trent Ford at the University of Illinois’ Illinois State Water Survey.

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  December brought warm and dry weather to end 2020

  Jan 4, 2021 10:45 am

• December Finished Cold in Illinois

  Jan 7, 2014 4:15 pm

  In December, the statewide temperature of 25.5 degrees was 4.4 degrees below average, making it the 20th coldest December on record since 1895. However, it is far short of the record coldest December of 1983 when the statewide temperature was only 17.1 degrees, 8.4 degrees colder than this December, according to Illinois State Climatologist Jim Angel at the Illinois State Water Survey, Prairie Research Institute, University of Illinois.

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  December in Illinois: Tornadoes, warm temperatures, and little snow

  Jan 2, 2019 3:00 pm

  With warmer than average temperatures, December 2018 brought slight snowfall and a historic late-season severe weather outbreak to Illinois.

• December in Illinois: Warm with Little Snow

  Jan 3, 2012 8:30 pm

  The statewide average temperature for December 2011 in Illinois was 35.7 degrees, 5.9 degrees above average. This ranked as the ninth warmest December on record with statewide records going back to 1895, according to Illinois State Climatologist Jim Angel of the Illinois State Water Survey, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

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  Deciphering the culture found in prehistoric plants

  Feb 5, 2020 12:30 pm

  Archaeobotanists at the Illinois State Archaeological Survey study ancient plant remains with the goal of understanding how humans used plants in the past. 

• 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."

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  Deer protected from deadly disease by newly discovered genetic differences

  Feb 23, 2023 9:45 am
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  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."

• Demissie Named Director of Illinois State Water Survey

  Feb 25, 2009 8:00 pm

  The Institute of Natural Resource Sustainability (INRS) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has named Mike Demissie, head of the Center for Watershed Science at the Illinois State Water Survey (ISWS), as new director of the Survey.

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  Digging into soil data helps inform green infrastructure design

  Mar 11, 2022 8:45 am

  PRI geologists were part of a multidisciplinary research project aimed at helping Illinois communities add green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) to their strategies to prevent local flooding. Pilot projects focused on Calumet City and Midlothian. 

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  Digital Extended Specimens provide richer data, global access

  Aug 3, 2022 9:30 am

  In an article published in BioScience, a team of collaborators including Deborah Paul, biodiversity informatics community liaison with the Species File Group at the Illinois Natural History Survey, describes the Digital Extended Specimen, a network of information with biodiversity data at its core.

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  Digitization efforts make wealth of INHS collections more accessible

  Apr 26, 2017 8:00 am

  INHS is home to over 9 million biological specimens, including plants, insects, fish, reptiles, and fossils. Learn how we're digitizing these specimens to make them accessible to everyone.

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  Digitization of biological collections will make fragile specimens more accessible for study

  Jan 30, 2012 8:00 am

  The biological collections of the Illinois Natural History Survey are among the largest in the nation, with nearly 10 million specimens collected over the past 150 years. These collections document our natural heritage and can be studied to understand variations within and between species, changes over time, and countless other topics. Many of the specimens are fragile and must be stored and handled with extreme care. As part of a $10 million grant from the National Science Foundation, researchers at INHS are working with several other institutions to digitize collections, taking high resolution images from a variety of angles. Scientists from around the world will be able to see the images of the specimens and physically handle only the ones that they need for closer examination. For more information on the invertebrate side of the project, check out the InvertNet website.