October 31st saw an end to the 2020 field season for most of our projects. To say 2020 proposed new challenges would be an understatement! Out of our Havana station, our various projects took us along the entire 270+ mile stretch of the Illinois River, from the outskirts of Chicago to its confluence with the […]
We kicked off our 2020 field season this month! This year we are very busy again sending up to seven field crews out a day working on the Illinois River Waterway and Mississippi River. We have already sampled many riverine fishes including this spotted sucker (Minytrema melanops) and this northern sunfish (Lepomis peltastes). Follow our […]
The staff of the Illinois River Biological Station wrapped up a successful 2019 field season at the end of October. This year, we completed annual fish and water quality sampling on over five projects covering areas along the entire length of the Illinois River and select pools of the Upper Mississippi River. We employed and […]
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — As common carp forage in Illinois River sediment, they eat and scatter seeds of both beneficial plants and invasive species. A new IRBS and Forbes Biological Station study suggests that the specific seeds carp consume and the distance at which they shed them could potentially impact the river ecosystem. To find out […]
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Populations of largemouth bass, bluegill, catfish, and other sportfish are at the highest levels recorded in more than a century in the Illinois River, according to a new report. Their dramatic recovery, from populations close to zero near Chicago throughout much of the 20th century, began just after implementation of the Clean […]
Rivers help define Illinois both on our maps and in our minds. After decades of decline driven by pollution, the major rivers of Illinois—the Wabash, Ohio, Mississippi, and Illinois—started to improve after the Clean Water Act was enacted in 1972. Unfortunately, chemical pollution may be relatively controlled, but biological pollution, most recently with the arrival […]
Champaign, Ill. — Largemouth bass males swimming in the lower Des Plaines River below the Chicago metropolitan area showed female characteristics at a high rate, according to a new study led by IRBS researchers. To find out more, read this article by the Prairie Research Institute.