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Natural History Survey

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  • Innovative microwave sensors deployed on an unmanned aerial system over the I-FARM facility for soil and biomass sensing in 2024. Photo credit Mohamad Alipour.

    Center for Digital Agriculture, Prairie Research Institute partner to support joint agriculture research

    May 5, 2025 10:00 am

    The Center for Digital Agriculture and the Prairie Research Institute have partnered to offer seed funding for joint research projects.

  • Wetlands geologist Nicolette Sheffield conducts field research at Illinois Beach State Park.

    $2.3 million NOAA grant for PRI research supports conservation of Lake Michigan coast

    Apr 17, 2025 8:00 am

    Prairie Research Institute scientists are conducting a $2.3 million project to support the protection and restoration of part of the Illinois Beach State Park coastal area.

  • A bee visits an echinacea flower.

    Available prairie seed mixes may fall short for pollinators

    Mar 24, 2025 2:45 pm

    As populations of bees and butterflies decline in the Midwest, native prairie restoration becomes crucial. A new Prairie Research Institute study found, however, that many commercial seed mixes used to conserve and restore prairies may not have enough diversity or spring flowering plants to fully support these pollinators.

  • A still image from the camera trap video captured by U. of I. student Bethany Warner shows a flying squirrel in Brownfield Woods Oct. 27.

    Flying squirrel documented in Brownfield Woods

    Dec 20, 2024 12:00 pm

    A University of Illinois student researcher recently identified a Southern flying squirrel in a university natural area for the first time in recent memory.

  • Adult Syrian Spadefoot Toad discovered in a greenhouse in Burj Arab, Tartous Governorate, Syria, March 18, 2022. This was the second confirmed sighting of the species in the region. Photo by Naeil Khosam.

    Toad discovery brings together Syrian, Illinois scientists

    Dec 18, 2024 2:30 pm

    The Syrian Spadefoot Toad has been rediscovered in the war-torn country with the help of Syrian community scientists and Illinois researchers.

  • ‘World building’ in a video games class

    Nov 13, 2024 9:45 am

    The Concept Art for Video Games class at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign requires students to collaborate on a cohesive visual design for a video game and gives then insight into how the video game industry works. 

  • The race to save the little brown bat: How genomic research could rescue a species on the brink of extinction

    Oct 31, 2024 11:00 am

    Researchers are using cutting-edge genomic techniques to help the little brown bat, a species at risk due to white-nose syndrome. By analyzing DNA samples from across the bat's historic range, the team aims to uncover genetic insights that could guide conservation strategies. This collaborative effort among scientists and institutions offers new hope for protecting the bat and other vulnerable wildlife. 

  • A woman and man standing along a river bank holding salamander mussels and their shells.

    Endangered salamander mussel found alive in Illinois after nearly 120 years

    Oct 9, 2024 7:00 am

    For the first time in nearly 120 years, researchers confirmed the presence live individuals of the state-endangered salamander mussel in Illinois, marking a major biodiversity milestone for the state.

  • 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.

  • Examining an ecosystem: 130 years in the Illinois River valley

    Sep 5, 2024 9:00 am

    For 130 years, Illinois Natural History Survey scientists have been dedicated to studying the Illinois River system at the Forbes Biological Station near Havana, Illinois. Founded in 1894, it is North America’s oldest inland field station.

  • 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.

  • Lake Michigan coast

    PRI research targets coastal resilience and water planning challenges

    Jul 29, 2024 8:00 am

    PRI scientists are investigating how artificial reef complexes can stabilize shorelines and developing strategies to address water sustainability challenges and future water planning. These efforts aim to provide critical insights that will inform decision-making and improve environmental management in the southern Lake Michigan region.

  • Timber Rattlesnake

    Study: When do timber rattlesnakes emerge in the spring in Illinois?

    Apr 24, 2024 10:15 am

    Illinois’ timber rattlesnakes emerge from their cold-weather dens hidden below ground and can be seen sunning themselves in the nearby forest foliage as spring temperatures warm. Scientists at the Illinois Natural History Survey (INHS) have found clues to determine when snakes will slither from their over-winter spots to inform conservation officials who manage local habitats.

  • Sarah Douglass

    INHS malacologist Sarah Douglass among the sixteen employees honored with Chancellor's Staff Excellence Award

    Apr 18, 2024 8:00 am

    Sixteen academic professionals and civil service staff members have received the 2024 Chancellor’s Staff Excellence Award. 

  • Deer from Cook County

    INHS survey studies Illinois hunters’ beliefs about controlling disease in deer populations

    Apr 3, 2024 11:15 am

    Despite the increase in cases of chronic wasting disease in Illinois deer, hunters in recent years have gained trust in agency actions and are more positive about the use of sharpshooting to control the disease, according to a survey of hunters conducted at the Illinois Natural History Survey (INHS) at the Prairie Research Institute.

  • Forbes Biological Station in winter

    Forbes Biological Station celebrates 130th anniversary

    Apr 1, 2024 11:30 am

    The Illinois Natural History Survey at the Prairie Research Institute is home to the first inland field station in the United States. Founded 130 years ago, Forbes Biological Station is located in Havana, Illinois. Director Auriel Fournier reflects on the history and research legacy of the Forbes Biological Station on its anniversary.

  • Learning by listening to the people who live it

    Mar 19, 2024 8:30 am

  • Higher soil temperatures this winter foretell potential crop pest problems

    Mar 5, 2024 3:15 pm

    Winter 2023-24 has been warm throughout Illinois, creating conditions ripe for insects to overwinter, according to scientists at the Prairie Research Institute (PRI) at the University of Illinois.  

  • Illinois Natural History Survey medical entomologist Jiayue (Gabriel) Yan peers through a viewing port as he works inside a sealed glove box, using tongs to carefully handle Aedes aegypti mosquitoes.

    Starving mosquitoes for science

    Feb 23, 2024 9:45 am

    A behind the scenes look at the Medical Entomology Laboratory at Illinois Nature History Survey and the work of Jiayue (Gabriel) Yan on Aedes aegypti mosquitoes.

  • 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.

  • Survey: Farmers’ attitudes about land ownership belies some stereotypes

    Jan 25, 2024 10:15 am

    A recent Prairie Research Institute (PRI) study of attitudes about land conservation found that Illinois farmers view themselves as stewards of their land, balancing conservation with earning a profit. Nearly half of farmers surveyed said they would use conservation practices even without financial compensation from federal land conservation programs.

  • TJ Benson

    Do we need a new approach to prevent bird window strikes?

    Oct 23, 2023 9:00 am

    In early October, nearly 1,000 birds perished after colliding with the windows of a convention center near Lake Michigan in Chicago, marking the largest mass bird die-off in decades. But bird window-strike fatalities are an ongoing threat. Illinois Natural History Survey wildlife ecologist Thomas J. Benson, an expert in bird population trends in Illinois, spoke to News Bureau life sciences editor Diana Yates about the problem and what new strategies may help.

  • 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.

  • Two western diamondback rattlesnakes interacting near dens.

    New research shows rattlesnakes are social animals

    Oct 3, 2023 9:00 am

    Researchers found that a population of rattlesnakes formed social groups that they frequently interacted within. Despite having overlapping home ranges, they rarely if ever interacted with snakes outside of their social groups. The groups were not formed based solely on geography or family relationships, but rather appear to be based on the time of year, as they leave and return to their winter homes.  

  • gray squirrel

    The squirrel experiment

    Sep 21, 2023 9:45 am
  • Auriel Fournier

    Auriel Fournier elected First Vice President of Wilson Ornithological Society

    Jul 10, 2023 9:45 am

    Fournier, director of the Forbes biological station and waterfowl ecologist at the Illinois Natural History Survey (INHS) at the Prairie Research Institute (PRI) began her journey with the Wilson Ornithological Society (WOS), an international scientific society comprising professional and amateur ornithologists, when she attended the Society’s Annual Meeting in 2015 as a Ph.D. student. She will serve as First Vice President for two years before serving as President in 2025

  • Leellen Solter and Sam Heads

    Ancient katydid fossil reveals muscles, digestive tract, glands and a testicle

    Jun 26, 2023 1:45 pm

    Fifty million years ago in what is now northwestern Colorado, a katydid died, sank to the bottom of a lake and was quickly buried in fine sediments, where it remained until its compressed fossil was recovered in recent years. When researchers examined the fossil under a microscope, they saw that not only had many of the insect’s hard structures been preserved in the compressed shale, so had several internal organs and tissues, which are not normally fossilized. 

  • American Crocodile (Crocodylus acutus) egg (parthenogen) showing banding pattern indicative of potential viability.

    INHS researchers reveal “virgin birth” in a crocodile

    Jun 12, 2023 9:30 am

    In a recent study published in the journal Biology Letters, this is the first known instance of a crocodile virgin birth, but virgin births (parthenogenesis) have been recorded in fish, birds, lizards, and snakes. Parthenogenesis is a natural form of asexual reproduction in some animals where viable offspring are produced from an otherwise unfertilized egg. Mark Davis, a conservation biologist at the Illinois Natural History Survey (INHS) at the Prairie Research Institute (PRI) and co-author on the study helped examine the crocodile fetus' genomic makeup, ultimately discovering that the fetal genome resulted from reproduction without a male crocodile’s genetic contribution. 

  • Jeff Hoover

    How does climate change affect global bird reproduction?

    May 1, 2023 2:15 pm

    A new study reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences assessed changes in the reproductive output of 104 bird species between 1970 and 2019. Illinois Natural History Survey avian ecologist Jeff Hoover, a co-author of the paper, discusses the findings and how climate change is altering bird ecology and health around the world. 

  • Pinto Bean

    Celebrated squirrel’s legacy lives on for visitors

    Apr 18, 2023 3:00 pm

    Pinto Bean, the beloved piebald squirrel that lived and died on the University of Illinois campus, is back. The squirrel’s taxidermied remains are now on display at the Forbes Natural History Building lobby, where visitors can see its rare gray and white coloration that attracted fans and followers at the university.

  • 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. 

  • Earn course credit for attending INHS seminar series

    Mar 24, 2023 10:15 am

    Students may earn one credit for attending the INHS seminar series by registering for NRES 512/IB 546, starting Fall 2023 with instructor Dr. Suneeti K. Jog. Students will be required to attend INHS seminars (in-person or virtual) to get full credit, and it is a Pass/Fail course. Graduate faculty are asked to encourage their graduate students to sign up for this course.

  • 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.

  • Illinois’ mild winter might benefit insect pests this spring

    Mar 9, 2023 2:45 pm

    Above normal air temperatures this winter kept Illinois average soil temperatures higher than usual. These mild conditions are favorable for insect pests that overwinter in Illinois, but many other factors will affect insect populations for the upcoming growing season, according to scientists at the Prairie Research Institute (PRI), a part of the University of Illinois.

  • white-tailed deer

    Deer protected from deadly disease by newly discovered genetic differences

    Feb 23, 2023 9:45 am
  • A new study adds to the evidence that apex predators like pumas play a unique role in ecosystems that is not fulfilled by smaller carnivores.

    Camera-trap study provides photographic evidence of pumas' ecological impact

    Jan 23, 2023 10:45 am

    A camera-trap study of two ecosystems – one with pumas and one without – adds to scientists’ understanding of the many ways apex predators influence the abundance, diversity and habits of other animals, including smaller carnivores. The study followed multiple members of the order Carnivora, looking at how the largest carnivore in each locale influenced the behavior and presence of other animals in the same vicinity.

  • Miriam Schlessinger

    My experience at a Wildlife Veterinary Epidemiology Laboratory

    Nov 4, 2022 10:45 am

    Miriam Schlessinger writes about her experience as an intern in the Illinois Natural History Survey's Wildlife Veterinary Epidemiology Lab for the Outdoor Illinois Journal.

  • 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. 

  • University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Ph.D. candidate Nicholas Antonson prepares a nest box to accommodate a prothonotary warbler nest.

    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. 

  • Least bittern perched on a plant.

    Study tracks waterbird use of Chicago-area wetlands

    Sep 14, 2022 9:30 am

    A three-year study in northeastern Illinois and northwestern Indiana found that – even at small scales – emergent wetlands or ponds support many wetland bird species. The study also found that, at least in the years surveyed, the level of urbanization had little effect on most of the studied species’ use of such sites, provided the right kinds of habitat were available.

  • Study finds minimal risk of exposure to legionella from irrigated wastewater at a safe distance

    Aug 30, 2022 8:30 am

    Potential exposure to legionella bacteria in municipal wastewater used to irrigate crop fields will likely not pose a health threat to residents living downwind, according to a postdoctoral researcher at the Illinois Natural History Survey.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • Yanghui Cao, Valeria Trivellone, and Christopher Dietrich, photo by Fred Zwicky

    Study tracks plant pathogens in leafhoppers from natural areas

    Aug 2, 2022 8:00 am

    Phytoplasmas are bacteria that can invade the vascular tissues of plants, causing many crop diseases. While most studies of phytoplasmas begin by examining plants showing disease symptoms, a new analysis by researchers at the Illinois Natural History Survey focuses on the tiny insects that carry the infectious bacteria from plant to plant. By extracting and testing DNA from archival leafhopper specimens collected in natural areas, the study identified new phytoplasma strains and found new associations between leafhoppers and phytoplasmas known to harm crop plants.

  • a deer

    Chronic wasting disease: hunters' perceptions and attitudes

    Aug 1, 2022 9:45 am

    For Outdoor Illinois Journal, INHS scientists describe what their surveys have revealed about deer hunters'perceptions and attitudes toward the management of chronic wasting disease in Illinois' deer 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • Eastern woodrat

    Study explores reasons why relocated woodrat populations have fared well in Illinois

    Jun 13, 2022 1:30 pm

    In a new study, researchers analyzed capture histories of 205 woodrats in the summers of 2013 and 2014 in areas of the Shawnee National Forest where woodrats had been reintroduced. The goal was to estimate local population size and determine how abundance and survival rates were associated with availability of nest-site crevices in rocks, the abundance of owls as predators, availability of nut-producing trees, and the risk of raccoon roundworm infection, which is fatal to woodrats.

  • 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.