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Natural History Survey

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  • Aerial view of fully installed submerged rubble ridges

    Underwater innovation at Illinois Beach State Park to help mitigate coastal erosion

    Feb 18, 2022 4:00 pm

    This past summer, with funding from the EPA Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, a US Army Corps of Engineers crane carefully placed over 10,000 tons of stone five hundred feet offshore of Illinois Beach State Park (ISBP) and Hosah Park, a Zion Park District property wedged between the north and south units of IBSP. These stones form three “rubble ridges” that are intended to work in concert to lessen storm waves and protect the eroding beach and unique terrestrial ecosystem in the dunes while preserving views and enhancing fish habitat.

  • INHS researching snakes at Allerton Park

    Oct 15, 2008 3:30 pm

    Jon Griesbaum, a student in Dr. Christopher Phillips lab, is studying the movements of Fox Snakes at Allerton Park using radio telemetry. The snakes that are captured and marked are then tracked for a year. Griesbaum hopes that learning more about the snakes range and behavior will enable policy makers to make informed and better choices about wild areas. Articles about Griesbaum's study appeared in the 7 September issue of the News-Gazette, the 4 September issue of Environmental Almanac, and can be found archived.

  • 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.

  • INHS Entomologist featured in video by National Park Service

    Oct 21, 2015 9:00 am

    INHS Aquatic Entomologist Ed DeWalt was featured in a video put out by the National Park Service: Scientists and Citizens: Investigating Aquatic Insects in Great Lakes National Parks.

  • Puma

    Study: Black bears are eating pumas' lunch

    Mar 19, 2021 8:15 am

    A camera-trap study in the Mendocino National Forest in Northern California reveals that black bears are adept at finding and stealing the remains of adult deer killed by pumas. This “kleptoparasitism” by bears, as scientists call it, reduces the calories pumas consume in seasons when the bears are most active. Perhaps in response to this shortage, the pumas hunt more often and eat more small game when the bears are not in hibernation.

  • Smallmouth Bass released in DuPage River will help evaluate habitat restoration success

    May 31, 2012 8:00 am

    Approximately 100 smallmouth bass were released into the DuPage River yesterday. The fish, which spent the first 7 years of their lives in the Jake Wolf Fish Hatchery, have been fitted with a plastic tag with an ID number and phone number for anglers to call if they catch one of these fish. The size and location data collected from this will help track their movement and give insight into the success of habitat restoration projects within the DuPage basin. This project is a collaboration between the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and the Illinois Natural History Survey. For more information about the project, visit the I Fish Illinois Website.

  • 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.

  • INHS mycology herbarium receives Alan D. Parker Collection

    Aug 7, 2008 3:00 pm

  • 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.

  • New Bacterial Leaf Disease is Confirmed in One Illinois Corn Field

    Sep 14, 2016 8:00 am

    In a recent survey of approximately 340 corn fields in 68 Illinois counties, bacterial leaf streak was confirmed in only one county, according to Kelly Estes, Cooperative Agricultural Pest Survey (CAPS) coordinator, Illinois Natural History Survey (INHS), Prairie Research Institute, University of Illinois.

  • 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.

  • Widespread Shallow Groundwater Contamination Found in Southwestern Illinois Cave Streams and Springs

    Nov 17, 2016 8:00 am

    Researchers have detected prescription and over-the-counter medications and personal care products in Illinois groundwater, an indication that humans are contaminating water that is vital to aquatic life.

  • 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.

  • Strong floods drive warblers away from their known breeding sites

    Apr 18, 2017 8:00 am

    Fewer migratory Swainson’s Warblers return to breed after high flood waters alter the quality of their wetland forest habitat, according to new University of Illinois research published in the journal PLOS ONE.

  • IL endangered birds found with DDT byproducts in Chicago marshes

    May 29, 2008 2:15 pm

  • Planting native plants may reduce risk of west nile virus

    Jul 1, 2015 8:00 am

    A recent study by INHS graduate student Allison Gardner, INHS Medical Entomologist Ephantus Juma Muturi and their colleagues found that leaf detritus in standing water can influence reproduction in mosquitoes. Leaves from invasive honeysuckle and autumn olive, yielded higher emergence of adult Culex pipiens mosquitoes (the vector for West Nile Virus). Leaves of native blackberry resulted in high numbers of eggs, but low adult emergence.

  • 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.

  • End to live turtles in the Turtle Races

    Jun 19, 2013 8:00 am

    For the past 49 years, box turtles have been collected from the wild and brought to Danville for the annual Turtle Reunion and Races, a charity event. This has been a concern to herpetologists, including INHS Herpetologist Chris Phillips and U of I Wildlife Veterinarian Matt Allender (an INHS Affiliate), for several reasons including the possibility of spreading diseases. The two scientists have been collaborating on a long term study of the health of box turtles in Vermilion County. They have been testing for diseases including ranavirus, a contagious disease with high mortality that is also a threat to amphibians.

  • two men hold tray of insect specimens

    Effort clarifies major branch of insect tree of life

    Nov 26, 2018 2:30 pm

    A study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences collected a vast amount of molecular data on the Hemiptera order of insects and used the information to help tease out their family relationships and evolutionary history.

  • New scientific technique predicts a climate change scenario in national parks

    Apr 24, 2017 8:00 am

    A University of Illinois researcher has created a new method to study potential climate change in protected areas.

  • Small-mouthed salamander observed in Hancock Co.

    May 20, 2008 10:30 am
  • Joseph Parkos

    INHS scientist comments on rebranding of invasive fish as 'copi'

    Jun 27, 2022 8:45 am

    Illinois officials this month announced that "Asian carp" would now be called “copi” in an attempt to make the fish more desirable for eating. Joseph Parkos, the director of the Illinois Natural History Survey’s Kaskaskia, Ridge Lake and Sam Parr biological stations, spoke with News Bureau life sciences editor Diana Yates about scientific initiatives to study and control carp/copi fish populations and the potential for rebranding to aid those efforts.

  • Graduate Student Awards in Natural History

    Jul 6, 2016 11:30 am

    The Illinois Natural History Survey has presented awards to eight graduate students for their research accomplishments.

  • More endangered mussels being released in Illinois

    Aug 26, 2013 8:00 am

    INHS researchers Jeremy Tiemann, Kevin Cummings, Sarah Bales, Alison Price, and Diane Shasteen are working to reintroduce endangered northern riffleshell and clubshell mussels to sites in Vermilion County. Approximately 1000 mussels were collected from the Alleghany River in Pennsylvania, under a bridge slated for replacement in 2018. Following quarantine and tagging, the mussels will be released at sites found to meet the requirements necessary for survival.

  • Environmental factors affecting growth rates of popular sportfish in the Illinois River

    Mar 15, 2017 2:00 pm
  • bluegill fish

    Friendlier fish may be quicker to take the bait

    Jul 16, 2018 2:00 pm

    The bluegill on your dinner plate might have been more social than the rest of its group, according to a new study from the University of Illinois, and its removal from the lake could mean major changes for the remaining population.

  • a deer

    Occurrence of hemorrhagic disease in Illinois: Four decades of spatial and temporal changes

    Aug 1, 2022 9:15 am

    For Outdoor Illinois Journal, scientists in the Wildlife Veterinary Epidemiology Laboratory review the evolving understanding of two vector-borne viral disease affecting both domestic and wild ruminants in Illinois—bluetongue  and epizootic hemorrhagic disease.

  • INHS researcher awarded Distinguished Service Award

    Aug 15, 2014 8:00 am

    Mark Wetzel, research scientist and oligochaetologist at the Illinois Natural History Survey (Prairie Research Institute at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign), was awarded the 2014 Distinguished Service Award in May by the Society for Freshwater Science, an international scientific organization with over 1,800 members in over 40 countries that promotes understanding of freshwater ecosystems.

  • Sarah Douglass, 2024 Chancellor's Staff Excellence Award Winner

    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.

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

    Jan 12, 2015 10:15 am

  • Brown marmorated stink bug in Illinois

    May 2, 2011 8:00 am

    The Brown Marmorated Stink Bug is a new invasive species being found in Illinois that is getting a lot of media attention. INHS Entomologist Chris Dietrich discussed the bugs in the Geneva Republican, stating that with no natural predators, these bugs can become a nuisance species. He adds that, “They’re actually considered a delicacy in some parts of Mexico.” Illinois Cooperative Agriculture Pest Survey Entomologist, Kelly Estes was interviewed about the bugs on WGLT - Bloomington NPR affiliate and WILL 580. This species has been confirmed in Cook, Kane, Champaign and McLean counties but scientists are still determining the extent of its spread. She asks that if you think you have this (or other pest species) send her a photo or the actual specimen for positive identification. She can be contacted at invasives@inhs.illinois.edu.

  • Tommy McElrath wields a net in Trelease prairie

    Chasing bumble bees on a patch of prairie

    Jul 21, 2020 8:00 am

    Illinois Natural History Survey insect collection manager Tommy McElrath conducts surveillance for bees at the prairie near the University's Trelease Woods. Only 11 of the 18 bumblee bee species historically collected in Illinois have been seen in the last 15 years. Of those remaining here, three are endangered or threatened.

  • bird banding

    A marvelous morning of migratory bird banding

    Oct 25, 2022 11:45 am

    In a look Behind the Scenes, avian ecologist Tara Beveroth, other INHS staff, and students band birds at the Phillips Tract natural area. Data that they gather will be sent to the federal Bird Banding Laboratory, which collects, archives, and disseminates information for avian research. 

  • Illinois Natural History Survey Staff Member Received Outstanding Service Award

    Sep 21, 2016 8:00 am

    Margaret Wingard, sponsored research coordinator at the Illinois Natural History Survey (INHS), Prairie Research Institute, has received the 2016 University of Illinois SPaRC Outstanding Service Award for her support of research administration.

  • New videos on InvertNet featuring INHS scientists at work

    May 31, 2012 8:00 am

    New videos about the InvertNet project, featuring Chris Dietrich, Chris Taylor, Andy Miller have been posted at the InvertNet Vimeo website. Learn about the collections and the field work that provides specimens to them at invertnet.org.

  • Jorge Doña and Kevin Johnson

    Study explores coevolution of mammals and their lice

    Jul 5, 2022 7:15 am

    According to a new study published in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution, the first louse to take up residence on a mammalian host likely started out as a parasite of birds. That host-jumping event tens of millions of years ago began the long association between mammals and lice, setting the stage for their coevolution and offering more opportunities for the lice to spread to other mammals.

    The study was led by Illinois Natural History Survey ornithologist Kevin P. Johnson and Jorge Doña, a Marie Curie postdoctoral researcher at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the University of Granada, Spain.

  • The convergent evolution of bird lice

    Sep 3, 2012 8:00 am

    Recent research by INHS Ornithologist and Parasitologist Kevin Johnson has found that bird lice have undergone convergent evolution, evolving different body shapes dependent on where they live on the bird. Despite the morphological similarities between lice from the wings of different bird groups, the species are more closely related to other lice species on the same bird group. The same pattern holds true for lice from the head and body. Learn more about Kevin Johnson's research through this video by the U of I News Bureau.

  • gray squirrel

    The squirrel experiment

    Sep 21, 2023 9:45 am
  • Ph.D. candidate Sulagna Chakraborty, center, led a study of farmer awareness of ticks and tick-borne diseases with U. of I. pathobiology professor Rebecca Smith, left, and Illinois Natural History Survey wildlife veterinary epidemiologist Nohra Mateus-Pinilla.

    Are Illinois farmers aware of the risk of tick-borne diseases?

    Apr 6, 2023 2:45 pm

    Tick-borne illnesses like ehrlichiosis, Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain spotted fever are on the rise in Illinois, and outdoor workers like farmers are at higher risk than those who spend more time indoors. 

    blog post

    blog postsTick-borne illnesses like ehrlichiosis, Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain spotted fever are on the rise in Illinois, and outdoor workers like farmers are at higher risk than those who spend more time indoors. 

    Tick-borne illnesses like ehrlichiosis, Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain spotted fever are on the rise in Illinois, and outdoor workers like farmers are at higher risk than those who spend more time indoors. 

  • Largemouth Bass behavior inherited from parents, but also learned

    Apr 10, 2012 8:00 am

    INHS Fisheries Geneticist Dave Phillipp and his lab have studied Largemouth Bass for decades. His findings, including that vulnerability to being caught by anglers is inherited and that bass can learn from negative experiences, were featured in a news story picked up by media across the country.

  • cluster of Humboldt penguins on the shoreline

    Blood markers predict Humboldt penguin nest type, reproductive success

    Jun 2, 2020 8:45 am

    Researchers looked at metabolic markers in the blood of 30 Humboldt penguins nesting in the Punta San Juan Marine Protected Area in Peru, finding that penguins in guano-rich burrows and unsheltered locations had consistent – and distinct – patterns of several sugars in their blood. 

  • 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.

  • two yellow prothonotary warblers perched on a branch

    Warmer springs mean more offspring for prothonotary warblers

    Dec 9, 2020 8:30 am

    Climate change contributes to gradually warming Aprils in southern Illinois, and at least one migratory bird species, the prothonotary warbler, is taking advantage of the heat. A new study analyzing 20 years of data found that the warblers start their egg-laying in southern Illinois significantly earlier in warmer springs. This increases the chances that the birds can raise two broods of offspring during the nesting season, researchers found.

  • Emiquon producing massive crappie

    Apr 17, 2012 8:00 am

    INHS Fisheries Technicians Kenny Lookingbill (sunglasses at right) and Collin Hinz (left), reported that recent fish surveys at Emiquon turned up massive crappies, the largest weighing in at 3.4 pounds, 17 inches long. Emiquon is an approximately 3,000 acre restored natural area along the Illinois River and based on these surveys may become the best crappie fishery. INHS Illinois River Biologial Field Station and the INHS Forbes Biological Field Station study the waterfowl and fish populations in that area as a means of evaluating the success of the restoration and management.

  • Snake Road sojourn

    Apr 18, 2017 8:00 am

    INHS Conservation Biologist Mark Davis describes his journey along Snake Road in the Shawnee National Forest in search of snakes, frogs, salamanders, and other creatures in the wild.

  • Eastern massasauga rattlesnake

    For now, Illinois’ imperiled eastern massasauga rattlesnakes retain their genetic diversity

    Aug 13, 2018 9:15 am

    Habitat loss, habitat fragmentation and the loss of genetic diversity are the three main factors driving the extinction of many wild species, and the few eastern massasauga rattlesnakes remaining in Illinois have certainly suffered two of the three. A long-term study of these snakes reveals, however, that – despite their alarming decline in numbers – they have retained a surprising amount of genetic diversity.

  • INHS Scientists Drs. Joseph Spencer and Rich Lampman quoted in article on minute pirate bugs

    Oct 16, 2008 2:30 pm

    Dr. Joseph Spencer and Dr. Rich Lampman were quoted in the Champaign-Urbana News-Gazette article talking about minute pirate bugs. The article described why the insects bite humans, and describes the insects as, ultimately, beneficial. Illinois Natural History Survey affiliate May Berenbaum was also interviewed for the article. A copy of the article, which was published in the News-Gazette on October 3, 2008, can be found on the NewsBank site.

  • prairie fire

    Study reconstructs 232-year history of prairie fire in Midwestern U.S.

    Oct 19, 2021 11:15 am

    Researchers combed through thousands of historical documents for first-person accounts of fires occurring between 1673 and 1905 in the Midwestern tallgrass prairie. Their study is the first systematic analysis of the timing, causes and consequences of prairie fires in this part of the world. They report their findings in Natural Areas Journal.

  • Smaller stoneflies may be better at colonizing islands

    Nov 6, 2015 8:00 am

    INHS entomologist R. Edward DeWalt and graduate student Eric J. South of the Illinois Natural History Survey and Department of Entomology have a recently published paper on the size of stoneflies on Isle Royale in Lake Superior. Not only did their results show that there were significantly fewer species, compared to the mainland, but also that smaller stonefly species appeared to be more capable of recolonizing the island.

  • Moving Firewood Long Distances Can Spread Invasive Insects

    Nov 10, 2016 8:00 am

    What’s in your firewood? Tree-killing insects or diseases may be hiding in or on firewood that may be transported hundreds of miles to campsites or fireplaces.