Home

The Population and Community Ecology (PACE) Lab is overseen by Dr. Michael J. Dreslik. The four programs of the lab are the Urban Biotic Assessment Program (UBAP), which provides environmental expertise to the Illinois Tollway, the Amphibian and Reptile Conservation (ARC) program, the Freshwater Mollusk Ecology and Conservation (FMEC) program, and the Environmental Education Program (EEP).

Follow us:

4 hours ago

INHS PACE Lab
When you're in the field for multiple days, you sometimes have to turn your hotel room into a lab. KC and Claire set up an insect sorting and pinning station while conducting moth surveys this week. #FieldworkFriday #insects #moths #papaipema #Conservation ... See MoreSee Less
View on Facebook

23 hours ago

INHS PACE Lab
Yesterday’s #WhatisitWednesday was pointing at the caruncle of a hatchling False Map Turtle, Graptemys pseudogeographica. Like the egg-tooth of snakes and lizards, the caruncle is used to break open the egg shell. The caruncle is not a true “tooth,” but is a horn-like appendage made of keratin that develops on the beak and breaks off soon after hatching.This little turtle was named Frederick Ripcord by the Illinois Rip Chords A Capella group who noticed it in the grass at @JapanHouseUofI over the weekend. The PaCE Lab began monitoring turtle populations at Japan House this summer, but we don’t mark hatchlings, so Frederick was allowed to wander off unmarked. Hopefully we will encounter it again in the future, even though we won’t know for sure that it’s the same one. We now know that at least three species of turtles have bred at Japan House, Red-eared Slider, Common Snapping Turtle, and now, False Map Turtle.Learn more about our work at pace.inhs.illinois.edu/turtles-of-the-arboretum/#turtles #JapanHouseUofI #theripchords ... See MoreSee Less
View on Facebook

2 days ago

INHS PACE Lab
#WhatIsItWednesday Do you know what this white thing is? ... See MoreSee Less
View on Facebook

PACE Lab News

New Timber Rattlesnake publication by PhD candidate Andrew Jesper

Abstract: Many temperate reptiles survive winter by using subterranean refugia until external conditions become suitable for activity. Determining when to emerge from refugia relies on the ability to interpret when above-ground environmental conditions are survivable. If temperate reptiles rely on specific environmental cues such as temperature to initiate emergence, we should expect emergence phenologies to …

New publication from aquatic ecologist Hugo Ruellen

INHS PaCE Lab’s aquatic ecologist, Hugo Ruellen is lead author on a recent publication stemming from his M.Sc. research on freshwater mussels: “Predicting suitable habitat for surrogate species of critically imperiled freshwater mussels to aid in translocations.” Mussel translocations have been used to mitigate the impacts of in-stream construction projects, including bridge replacements. This work …

Popular article: Discovering the Ornate Box Turtle: A Rare, Remarkable Illinois Reptile

Graduate student Devin Edmonds wrote an article for the August Issue of Outdoor Illinois, showcasing the subject of his M.Sc. thesis research, the Ornate Box Turtle. Less common than their Eastern Box Turtle relatives, the Ornate Box Turtle is listed as state threatened. Learn more about this “Rare, Remarkable Illinois Reptile.” Outdoor Illinois – Discovering …