Category: Blog

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Illinois river otters still exposed to chemicals banned decades ago | By Diana Yates

from left – Samantha Carpenter, wildlife technical assistant; Kuldeep Singh, Clinical Assistant Professor, Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, Clinical Assistant Professor, Pathobiology ; Nohra Mateus-Pinilla, Wildlife Veterinary Epidemiologist INHS ; and Jan Novakofski, Associate Vice Chancellor for Research for Compliance, Professor of Animal Sciences, Professor of Nutritional Sciences. Photo by L. Brian Stauffer.

 

CHAMPAIGN, IL. – Researchers report that river otters in Central Illinois are being exposed to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and pesticides that were banned in the U.S. in the 1970s and ’80s.

Read the whole story by the University of Illinois News Bureau here.

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Adaptability of deer ticks back in the limelight

INHS Wildlife Veterinary Epidemiologist Nohra Mateus-Pinilla and her research on lyme diseasevectors were featured in an article in the Danville Commercial News and also discussed in a segment on Chicago Tonight about Science in Illinois.  Deer ticks have been spreading and are now found in 26 Illinois counties.

 

CHAMPAIGN, IL – Mateus-Pinilla’s study at Allerton park showed high numbers of infected individuals in prairie habitats, rather than the typical forest habitat.  Based on the study, it appears that Lyme disease and deer ticks may be more adaptable than previously known.  With regards to the lack of studies on ticks and lyme disease, Mateus-Pinilla said, “There are a lot of unknowns.  It seems like we have very little work on the ground being done.”

Read the whole story at the Illinois Natural History Survey blog.

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Lyme disease tick adapts to life on the (fragmented) prairie | By Diana Yates

The Lyme disease tick, seen here in its larval, nymph and adult forms, is advancing across "the prairie state." Photo by Illinois Natural History Survey.
The Lyme disease tick, seen here in its larval, nymph and adult forms, is advancing across “the prairie state.” Photo by Illinois Natural History Survey.

CHAMPAIGN, lL. – A new study offers a detailed look at the status of Lyme disease in Central Illinois and suggests that deer ticks and the Lyme disease bacteria they host are more adaptable to new habitats than previously appreciated.

Read the whole story by the University of Illinois News Bureau here.

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Cats pass disease to wildlife, even in remote areas | By Diana Yates

Nohra Mateus-Pinilla, left, a wildlife veterinary epidemiologist at the University of Illinois Prairie Research Institute, with graduate student Shannon Fredebaugh, led a study that found that cats spread disease to wildlife even in remote parts of a 1,500-acre natural area. Mateus-Pinilla is a researcher with the Illinois Natural History Survey, one of the surveys in the PRI. Photo by L. Brian Stauffer.
Nohra Mateus-Pinilla, left, a wildlife veterinary epidemiologist at the University of Illinois Prairie Research Institute, with graduate student Shannon Fredebaugh, led a study that found that cats spread disease to wildlife even in remote parts of a 1,500-acre natural area. Mateus-Pinilla is a researcher with the Illinois Natural History Survey, one of the surveys in the PRI. Photo by L. Brian Stauffer.

CHAMPAIGN, lL. – Researchers tracking the spread of Toxoplasma gondii – a parasite that reproduces only in cats but sickens and kills many other animals – have found infected wildlife throughout a 1,500-acre (600-hectare) natural area in central Illinois.

Read the whole story by the University of Illinois News Bureau here.