General Biodiversity

Biological inventory of C2000 Ecosystem program aquatic sites

K. Cummings, C. Mayer, L. Page, C. Phillips

Status surveys for freshwater mussel populations in Illinois streams are being conducted in association with Illinois Department of Natural Resources C-2000 partnership projects. These surveys focus on sites that may provide habitat for endangered, threatened or other rare mussels, fishes and herps. These surveys document the occurrence and abundance of mussels, fishes and herps in Illinois and provide current information on the aquatic resources of the state.

Inventory of terrestrial arthropods and vascular plants of Kyrgyz grasslands.

C. Dietrich, J. Taft, J. Bouseman

The goal of this 3-year project is to document the vascular flora and arthropod fauna of the steppe grasslands of Kyrgyzstan, a former Soviet Republic previously inaccessible to western scientists. Specimens and data gathered will facilitate systematic research on the Holarctic enable comparisons to be made among Central Asian grasslands and those of other regions of the world, including the prairies of the midwestern U.S. For more details, visit the project web site.

Rarest Illinois species

L. M. Page, M. E. Retzer, M. H. Sabaj, C. A. Taylor

The rarest species in Illinois are known from only one or a few localities. Although on the official Checklist of Endangered and Threatened Animals and Plants of Illinois, the status of several of these species is unknown because of the lack of recent information. This is particularly true of aquatic organisms, which are difficult to observe and sample, and often require taxonomic expertise available from only one or a few scientists. An effort is underway to determine the status of these extremely rare species in Illinois and report their status to the Endangered Species Protection Board and the Endangered Species Office of the Division of Natural Heritage so that proper habitat management and other protection measures can be taken.

Biodiversity, hydrogeology, and water quality of springs in Illinois

D.W. Webb, M.J. Wetzel, L.R. Phillippe, S.J. Taylor (INHS); P.C. Reed, T. Young (ISGS)

A cooperative program between the INHS and the Illinois State Geological Survey was initiated in 1991 to evaluate the current status, biodiversity, hydrogeology, and water quality of springs in Illinois. The majority of Illinois' springs are located in the Mississippian, Devonian, and Pennsylvanian limestone and sandstone of the Shawnee Hills of southern Illinois, and along the western border of the state, extending north to the Driftless area of Carroll and Jo Daviess counties. Several springs also originate from the base of the bluffs along the Fox, Illinois, and Rock rivers. Only a modest number of springs, however, occur in the central plains of Illinois. To date, over 300 springs have been included in the INHS Springs of Illinois Database. Of particular interest during this long-term study, conducted in three phases, was the monitoring of spring outflow for the presence of nitrates and agricultural pesticides. Summaries of each phase of this study of springs in Illinois are available via the INHS World Wide Web server.