Long-Term Monitoring & Research at the Illinois River Biological Station

LTRM & LTEF Monitoring

The biological station is part of two long-term monitoring programs, LTRM and LTEF. Both of these programs have been maintained by biologists at IRBS for decades focusing on fisheries monitoring in both the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers.

Multiple native fishes — Illinois River Fishes. Top, left to right: highfin carpsucker and bowfin. Bottom, left to right: red shiner and pumpkinseed sunfish (Photo Credits: Kris Maxson and Jason DeBoer).

Read more about LTRM here -> or LTEF here ->

The Emiquon Preserve

The Nature Conservancy’s Emiquon Preserve is one of the largest floodplain restoration projects in the United States. IRBS has monitored the aquatic vegetation and fish communities at Emiquon Preserve’s Thompson and Flag lakes since 2007.

Fish sampling at Emiquon — Annual fish sampling at the Emiquon Preserver (Photo Credits: Olivea Mendenhall and Amber Blackert).

Read more about The Emiquon Preserve here –>

Invasive Species Research

The biological station is actively involved in research on invasive carp species in the Illinois River Waterway partnering with multiple state and federal agencies in Illinois and the surrounding states. Several research projects have also been completed on non-native species that have become established in the Illinois River Waterway such as white perch, round goby, and zebra mussels.

Invasive silver carp — Invasive, juvenile silver carp resting on a measuring board and Large River Fisheries Ecologist, Jason DeBoer, holding a adult silver carp (Photo Credit: Andrya Whitten).

Read more about current invasive species research on the Illinois River here -> or on the Upper Mississippi River here ->