Canaries in the Catbird Seat can be pre-ordered off the following page: Pre-order INHS sesquicentennial publications
Canaries in the Catbird Seat is being published to help celebrate the Illinois Natural History Survey's sesquicentennial. This publication is intended for readers with a strong science background.
The European settlement of North America has had profound impacts on its biological resources. On a geologic time scale, these impacts have been rapid and few places have experienced these impacts as great as Illinois. Founded in 1858, the Illinois Natural History Survey is the second oldest and remains the largest agency tasked with studying the natural history of a state. One hundred and fifty years of research by INHS staff has resulted in a unique, multi-dimensional data set that not only documents the significant changes to that state's flora and fauna, but also sheds light on the mechanisms responsible for these changes. With the ever-increasing pressures on natural resources, it is hopeful that our society can examine what has happened in Illinois and learn from the past while at the same time look forward to a future of wise resource use.
With less than one half of one percent of its land unaltered by human activities, Illinois may represent the proverbial poster-child for landscape change. The chapters in this peer-reviewed volume contain summaries of the changes in biological communities and landscapes, the value of biological collections and ecological monitoring for monitoring changes, relevant natural resource management practices designed to address these changes, and restoration efforts taken to improve natural resources. Taken together, these chapters highlight the dramatic changes that have occurred in Illinois, the essential benefit of natural history research, and the actions that need to be taken to conserve the biological heritage of Illinois and other rapidly developing regions of the world.