Eastern Box Turtle growth is influenced by environmental conditions which in turn can be influenced by vegetative structure. Removal of Autumn Olive and Russian Olive at a site in Illinois occurred during a 16 year mark-recapture study allowing us to analyze impacts of removal on the growth of turtles. The data showed that removing the invasive plants may not negatively impact the growth of the turtles and that growth is variable by individual. This is attributed to reptile growth being influenced by more than just environmental conditions, including genetics.
Read the paper: Edmonds, D., A.R. Kuhns, and M.J. Dreslik. 2020. Eastern Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina carolina) growth and the impacts of invasive vegetation removal. Herpetological Conservation and Biology 15(3):588–596.
PACE Lab graduate student Devin Edmonds has been working to save one of the most threatened amphibian species in Madagascar. Listen to an interview he did with Amphibiacast about Mantella frogs, his time working in Madagascar, and his graduate research to conserve the Harlequin Mantella. A new conservation action plan will be released in the coming months.
UBAP Ornithologist Asya Rahlin is conducting research on cryptic wetland birds utilizing eDNA. Join her as she recounts a hot, sticky day collecting samples at Volo Bog.
PACE Lab herpetologists Andrea Colton and Emily Sunnucks wrote about their experiences continuing our research into the endangered Blanding’s Turtle in northeastern Illinois.
PACE Lab graduate student Alma Schrage is surveying sites in northeastern Illinois for the Federally endangered Rusty Patched Bumblebee, including sites that have been restored by the Illinois Tollway. Schrage was recently interviewed by the Chicago Tribune about the work.
PACE Lab graduate student Alma Schrage was selected to receive this year’s Mary Jane Neer Scholarship. Alma is a graduate student in the Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences department studying bumblebees including the federally endangered Rusty-patched Bumblebee.
The paper “Radiotelemetry reveals effects of upstream biomass and UV exposure on environmental DNA occupancy and detection for a large freshwater turtle,” is available in Environmental DNA
Alma Schrage won the Illinois Chapter of the Wildlife Society’s 2nd place student award for her poster “Foraging and nesting habitat of Bombus community in documented B. affinis site in northern Illinois”
Ethan Kessler won 2nd place for student oral presentation for his talk “The Alligator Snapping Turtle (Macrochelys temminckii) reintroduction in Illinois: an adaptive approach.”
Congratulations to both!
Other lab members presenting included:
Presentations
Crawford, J. A., A. R. Kuhns, and C. A. Phillips. Efficacy of created wetlands for amphibian population persistence in forested ecosystems.
Curtis, A. N, J. S. Tiemann,S. A. Douglass, M. A. Davis, and E. R. Larson. eDNA is not always easy: methodological studies for the advancement of eDNA applications to fish and wildlife conservation.
Edmonds, D. A., and M. J. Dreslik. Ornate Box Turtle (Terrapene ornata) demography in Illinois.
Hohoff, T. C., J. A. Kath, A. B. Cable, and M. A Davis. Illinois’s chiropteran landscape: leveraging NaBat acoustic data to inform conservation of Illinois’ bat biodiversity.
Holtswarth, J. N., E. R. Larson, J. S. Tiemann, J. L. Sherwood, P. Willink, and K. Ash. Genetic analysis of the rapid expansion of Banded Killifish (Fundulus diaphanus) in Illinois.
Kessler, E. J., S. Ballard, and M. J. Dreslik. The Alligator Snapping Turtle (Macrochelys temminckii) reintroduction in Illinois: an adaptive approach.
Phillips, C. A., A. R. Kuhns, J. A. Crawford, M. J. Dreslik, and J. Adams. Surveys for Kirtland’s snakes in Illinois.
Rahlin, A. A., M. L. Niemiller, and M. A. Davis. Testing the effectiveness of eDNA metagenomics to detect endemic wetland bird species.
Ross, J. P., D. Thompson, and M. J. Dreslik. Population viability analysis and the role of head-starting for a northern Illinois Blanding’s Turtle population.
Jesper, A. C. B., and M. J. Dreslik. Over-wintering phelology of the threatened Timber Rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus) in Illinois.
Posters
Andree, S., S. A. Douglass, and A. Stodola. Shell shape and body mass index of two freshwater mussels differs with age and location.
Callahan, S. A., A. R. Kuhns, J. A. Crawford, C. A. Phillips, and M. J. Dreslik. Phenology of breeding migrations of three Ambystoma species.
Douglass, S. A., E. J. Kessler, and M. J. Dreslik. Freshwater mussel movement in the Kishwaukee River, Rockford, Illinois.
Dreslik, M. J., J. P. Wiker, T. L. Esker, and J. M. Mui. Status of borer moths (Papaipema) in Illinois with an emphasis on the Rattlesnake-master borer.
Kuhns, A. R., J. A. Crawford, C. A. Phillips, M. Corcoran, and M. J. Dreslik. Herpetofaunal species of greatest conservation need in forested wetlands of southern Illinois.
LaGrange, S.M., L. Adamowicz, M. C. Allender, S. J. Baker, and M. J. Dreslik. Long-term monitoring of snake fungal disease in the Eastern Massasauga in Illinois.
Schrage, A. C., J. L. Robinson, and M. J. Dreslik. Foraging and nesting habitat of Bombus community in documented B. affinis site in northern Illinois.
This course is designed for students considering careers or graduate work studying wild amphibian and reptile populations. We will introduce students to techniques used in monitoring and research of amphibians and reptiles including methods for sampling, capturing, measuring, and marking herpetological populations and communities.
We will focus on the types of data often collected and basic statistical analyses used. The course will be designed around brief lectures followed by field trips to study sites where students will get hands-on experience with field techniques, which include methods to determine distribution and abundance; marking and measuring; movement patterns and home range size. The course will culminate in a three-day field trip to southern Illinois where students will get to employ many of the techniques they have learned in the class.
Eastern Box Turtle growth is influenced by environmental conditions which in turn can be influenced by vegetative structure. Removal of Autumn Olive and Russian Olive at a site in Illinois occurred during a 16 year mark-recapture study allowing us to analyze impacts of removal on the growth of turtles. The data showed that removing the invasive plants may not negatively impact the growth of the turtles and that growth is variable by individual. This is attributed to reptile growth being influenced by more than just environmental conditions, including genetics.
