Category: Shorter-Term

In Illinois, the Ornate Box Turtle has suffered from drastic habitat loss as prairies were converted to row crop agriculture. The resultant conversion has left many populations situated in a highly fragmented landscape. Such high fragmentation and insularization have left populations isolated and susceptible to small population dynamics. There are only a few places in Illinois where Ornate Box Turtle populations are considered robust. The demography project aims to gather data from two of these larger populations which will then be used to inform conservation efforts. The collaborative project was initiated at Nachusa Grasslands by Dr. Matthew Allender in 2016 and has now broadened to include demographics as well as wellness. Dr. Christopher A. Phillips, Dr. Sarah Baker, and Andrew Kuhns are also assisting with the fieldwork and design of the project. All the work could not have been completed with our Mr. Rucker and his amazing Boykin Spaniel team. With funds provided from a State Wildlife Initiative Grant, Devin Edmonds will be exploring the demography for his Master’s Thesis.

Our collaborative project led by Dr. John A. Crawford at the National Great Rivers Research and Education Center. With Dr. Christopher A. Phillips, Andrew Kuhns, and myself as co-investigators, the project seeks to provide current information on the status of amphibian and reptile Species in Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN) using the unique bottomland and swamp habitats of southern Illinois. Our three-year project will provide land management agencies a ranking of the quality of these habitats for herpetofauna. Also, the results of the project will provide updated distributional and abundance information for herpetofauna using these unique habitats.

A recent project I am leading will assess the conservation needs and data gaps present for Illinois’ imperiled herpetofauna. The work is in collaboration with Dr. Christopher A. Phillips, Dr. Johnathan A. Crawford, Andrew Kuhns, and Jennifer Mui and will help guide future conservation efforts under the revised Illinois Wildlife Action Plan. The goal is to assess each SGCN amphibian reptile species in the state and determine what measures require enacting for their recovery or stabilization. The work will be done through workshops with taxa experts within Illinois. Once measures are outlined and data gaps assessed, the most critical species will receive conservation planning.