THE FISHES OF CHAMPAIGN COUNTY

A periodic and comprehensive fish community analysis of over 120 stream sites through out the county that has been repeated 4 times since the initial sample of Stephen Forbes in 1899. This dataset has allowed us to observe long term changes in fish communities and stream habitat over the past century. (Publication currently in draft)

CURRENT STATUS AND HISTORIC RANGE OF BIGEYE CHUB (Hybopsis amblops) IN ILLINOIS

Once thought to be entirely extirpated from Illinois, the Bigeye Chub has made a comeback in eastern Illinois. We created a historical species distribution model to estimate the areas of the state that once harbored this species, as well as analyzed recent collection data to determine the over status of this species in Illinois.

MUSSEL SURVEYS OF THE SPOON AND LAMOINE RIVERS

Prior to these surveys, little was known about the current freshwater mussel communities inhabiting these tributaries of the Illinois River. We sampled the mussel communities at over 40 sites from each basin. Our surveys led to 2 new basin records of species that had not been collected from these basins.

STATUS, DISTRIBUTION, AND HABITAT PREFERENCES OF THE STRIPETAIL DARTER (Etheostoma kennicotti) AND SPOTTAIL DARTER (Etheostoma squamiceps) IN THE SHAWNEE NATIONAL FOREST, ILLINOIS

These species have always been known to inhabit only a few stream system in extreme southern Illinois. We performed targeted surveys to determine the overall status and range of this species. We also created an SDM to determine whether other suitable habitat was present in the area. It was determined that these species were already inhabiting all suitable stream sites within southern Illinois.