Research

The main focus of the Taylor Lab is the study of the biota of caves, karst, groundwater, & other subterranean environments, especially where there is relevance to conservation and management issues. There is a very general video about my cave research on YouTube. Particular areas of focus are briefly described below.

Illinois Bat Conservation Program

A collaborative survey & monitoring effort by the Illinois Natural History SurveyEastern Illinois University and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources

Illinois Bat Conservation Program website

gloved fingers holding jaws of small brown bat

Monitoring & Detection of White Nose Syndrome

five people in white protective suits in the woodsperson attaching equipment to tree

Subterranean ecosystem structure and function

Human impacts on subterranean ecosystems at a variety of scales from landscape level to site-specific impacts

two men in a cave

Karst preserve research, monitoring, and management

group of people outdoors

Considerations in cave and karst preserve design in relation to cave ecosystems

Ceuthophilus secretus

Subterranean biodiversity and knowledge gaps

Life history traits, taxonomy (especially pseudoscorpions and Stygobromus amphipods), and distribution of cave and karst organisms

Other Research Areas


  • Regional biodiversity of terrestrial Heteroptera and Orthoptera in southwestern Illinois (with Sam Heads and Dan Swanson)

man bends to examine loggreen insect on grass stem

  • Lespedeza cuneata (Fabaceae) invasion dynamics (in collaboration with Tony Yannarell)


  • Heteroptera: biology, taxonomy and systematics
  • Aradidae


  • Carabidae (ground beetles) – diversity & ecology in Illinois


  • Algific Slopes (with Alan Yanahan)



  • Aquatic Zoology
  • Bioassessment of Illinois streams and rivers (with Chris Taylor, Kevin Cummings, Mark Wetzel, Andy Kuhns, & Jeremy Tiemann)
Dan Swanson and Alan Yanahan collect aquatic macroinvertebrates
Entomology graduate students Dan Swanson (L) and Alan Yanahan (R) collecting aquatic macroinvertebrates in a Winnebago County, Illinois stream as part of the IDOT program’s site bioassessments.  Photo by Mark J. Wetzel, 6 June 2013.