CENTER FOR BIODIVERSITY
Geoffrey A. Levin, Director
The mission of the Center for Biodiversity is to acquire and apply information pertaining to the diversity of life in order to protect, manage, and develop the biotic resources of Illinois to ensure the long-term preservation of the state's natural environment. Major research programs in the Center are statewide inventories of native and introduced organisms, long-term monitoring of natural and disturbed communities, studies of exotic species, and systematic studies of organisms for which we have taxonomic expertise.
Most of the Survey's scientific collections are maintained by Center staff. In addition, the Center has entered into an agreement with the University of Illinois to manage its zoological collections, which include significant holdings of mammals, reptiles and amphibians, and mollusks, in addition to a historically significant collection of birds. Most of the combined INHS/U of I collections rank within the top 15 largest in North America, with the insect collection (6.25 million specimens) and the amphibian and reptile collection (108,000 specimens) ranking in the top nine. Specimens in the collections provide invaluable documentation of the geographic and temporal distributions of organisms, allow authoritative identification of organisms collected as part of ecological and conservation research, and underlie our research program in systematics. We attempt to make the collections accessible to users throughout the state, nation, and world, loaning an average of about 20,000 specimens each year to other institutions and hosting many visitors annually. Computerizing collection-associated data and making them available on the Internet is further increasing the accessibility of collection data.
The Center for Biodiversity has been deeply involved with the Critical Trends Assessment Project (CTAP) since its inception more than five years ago. A pioneering effort to study changes in the state's natural resources, this project has now moved from general assessments to monitoring trends both statewide and in areas where partnerships among state agencies, local governments, and citizen groups have been formed to manage the resources. Center staff have devoted much of their time this year to compiling baseline data on these partnership areas and consulting with the staff hired to do the monitoring.
A new direction in the Center's work began this year with the hiring of new staff to work at the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie and the Savanna Army Depot. With downsizing of the military, both of these federally owned areas are now being managed primarily for the vast areas of prairie habitat they contain. In cooperation with federal agencies, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources is working to restore the habitat and enhance native flora and fauna at Midewin and Savanna. Our new staff, two plant ecologists and two ornithologists, are studying the effectiveness of restoration efforts in creating good plant and bird habitat. They will work closely with the other DNR and federal staff at Midewin and Savanna to ensure that research findings are translated into management practices. Our involvement there also creates increased opportunities for other INHS staff to conduct important research at these biologically significant sites.
Public Service
Center for Biodiversity staff members serve on a variety of boards, advisory committees, and other organizations dedicated to scientifically based conservation of biodiversity. Among these groups are the Illinois Nature Preserves Commission; Illinois Endangered Species Technical Advisory committees on Plants, Fishes, and Invertebrates; Grand Prairie Friends of Illinois; Illinois Native Plant Society; Upper Mississippi River Conservation Commission; the IDNR Prescribed Burn Task Force; Indiana Mollusk and Crustacean Technical Advisory Committee; the Central States Education Center; the St. Louis 2004 Task Force; and the Fish Specialist Group and Declining Amphibian Population Task Force of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature-- Species Survival Commission.
Most members of the Center for Biodiversity are experts on certain groups of organisms and provide an identification service for other scientists, government agencies, and Illinois citizens. About 30,000 specimens are identified by Center scientists each year. In addition to identifications, Center scientists provide information on distributions, long-term trends, and ecological requirements on a daily basis. Dr. Lee Crane is a consultant to the University of Illinois Library on mold problems in the library stacks, and Dr. Christopher Phillips helped develop a very successful poster on Illinois frogs and toads.
As in past years, Center scientists gave a large number of professional and public presentations on various aspects of biodiversity. Dr. Joyce Hofmann and Ms. Ruth Green participated in many presentations to school classes and meetings devoted to public understanding and appreciation of biodiversity. Dr. Kenneth Robertson presented several talks on native plants, and Dr. Donald Webb gave presentations on forensic entomology, cave biology, and insect systematics. Mr. Kevin Cummings gave several talks on aquatic biodiversity to citizens and professional groups, including the Central States Education Center. Mr. Mark Wetzel made presentations on worms to school groups and served as a science fair judge. Dr. Steven Taylor made presentations on aquatic insects and cave biology to public groups and teachers. Dr. Christopher Phillips gave talks on reptiles and amphibians, and Mr. William Handel made presentations on prairie plants and restoration to various groups and served as a consultant to the CYCLE Wiz Kids program in Chicago. In addition to these public presentations, the following staff presented research papers in their specialties at professional society meetings or scientific conferences: Dr. Weidong Chen, Mr. Kevin Cummings, Dr. Christopher Dietrich, Mr. Thomas Kompare, Dr. Geoffrey Levin, Dr. Lawrence Page, Dr. Kenneth Robertson, Mr. Mark Sabaj, Mr. John Taft, Dr. Donald Webb, and Mr. Mark Wetzel.