Sam Parr Biological Station

07/23/2021

Watch our prairie grow! These photos were taken just after our controlled burn through the middle of June. We are very pleased with the native grasses and flowers that have bloomed this year as they create fantastic habitats for wildlife and insects. We are especially happy with all of our habitat for pollinators. One of the many flowers that are blooming on the prairie is Asclepias tuberosa or Butterfly W**d, which is a species of milk w**d that grows small orange flowers known to attract butterflies.

More information why pollinators are so important, and how we can all help create more habitat: https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/.../insects+and+pollinators/

04/20/2021

This week our technicians were able to get out onto Forbes Lake to collect some sun fish for an upcoming experiment to understand how individual behavior affects space and resource use. They were using electrofishing gear which sends electric currents through the water to stun the fish, at which point they will float to the surface and are able to be netted. The technicians were targeting green Sunfish, red ear sunfish, long ear sunfish, bluegill and warmouth. However, they did see quite a few crappie and largemouth bass as well as plenty of anglers out on the water. We highly encourage everybody to use this spring weather to get out and explore your local green spaces!

03/04/2021

The weather has warmed up, the snow and ice have melted which means it is time for our spring maintenance at the field station. This week we have been preforming controlled burns.

Controlled burns are intentionally set and heavily monitored fires. The goal of a controlled burn to remove excesses of dead plant material, kill any non-native plant species and help native grasses grow. The native grasses in this part of North America have evolved through a regular fire regime that has enabled them to thrive after being burnt unlike the non-native species. Fires struck these grasslands through lightning strikes and also through the land management from the people native to this part of the country. As Illinois, and other prairies, were settled and tilled for farming people began to limit the fire on the landscape, completely altering the ecosystems.

At Sam Parr Biological Station we use controlled burns in the spring with the goal of returning the land at the station to native tall grass prairies and oak savannahs.

Check out the Illinois Pollution Control Agency website for more information about controlled burns: https://www2.illinois.gov/epa/topics/forms/air-permits/Pages/open-burning.aspx #:~:text=Prescribed%20burning%20means%20the%20planned,land%20management%20or%20ecological%20objectives%20%E2%80%93

02/12/2021

Due to the recent cold snap, our weekly sampling looks a little different. Usually we are able to use chest waders to walk out into the ponds, but this week required us to drill holes in the ice. In these pictures you can see our probe which we use to measure the amount of dissolved oxygen in the water and the water temperature.

Fun Fact; water is at its most dense, and therefore heaviest, at 4 degrees Celsius (~39 degrees Fahrenheit). So unlike the saying "warm air rises" under the ice of frozen water you can find colder water closer to the surface and the warmer water deeper.

01/29/2021

Drone footage of the station after a recent snow fall that shows off the different ponds, Forbes Lake and the buildings.

01/28/2021

The station looks really nice blanketed with our most recent snow fall! These are photos taken with a drone, and a full video of the station will be coming soon.

08/27/2020

Our staff teamed up with staff from our sister station, the Kaskaskia Biological Station, to map out the electrical field generated by a portable electric barrier. The mobile barrier was designed to be able to be moved into a remote location quickly and use electricity in order to prevent the movement of invasive Bigheaded Carp into locations that are currently free from these species. Bigheaded Carps are invasive species that can grow large and compete with native fish species for resources and have the potential to change the community composition of streams and rivers they move into. The mobile electric barrier is potentially one of the tools that managers may be able to use to help protect native fish communities from these invaders.

08/20/2020

Staff at the Sam Parr Biological Station spent the morning collecting fish for an ongoing experiment. The most unique fish that we are working with is the shortnosed gar. Shortnosed gar can be identified by their diamond-shaped scales that are olive or brown on its back and sides, a white belly and dark spots on its dorsal and caudal fins. Shortnosed gar are especially interesting because their gas bladder can be used similarly to a lung enabling the gar to live in water that has very low oxygen. Shortnosed gar are native to Illinois and can be found in slow moving rivers, backwaters, oxbows and lakes. The gar that is pictured here was collected through electrofishing on the Kaskaskia river near Vandalia in late May during their spawning period.

08/13/2020

If you, or somebody you know, is interested in the work that we are doing here at the Sam Parr Biological Station please check out this job listing at the Kaskaskia Biological Station in Sullivan, Illinois!

"Technicians will conduct field work from small/large boats, conduct lab work, and assist with lab behavioral experiments and research projects evaluation the recruitment, behavior, reproductive strategies, and management of a variety of fish."

blog postsAquatic Ecology Technician (Hourly) - Illinois Natural History SurveyIllinois Natural History SurveyhourlyShare on FacebookTweetEmailThe Illinois Natural History Survey is seeking one field technician to conduct basic and applied research in the area of aquatic ecology. Technician will con...

08/13/2020

Our technicians spent a beautiful Tuesday out on Sam Parr Lake collecting samples. Along with collecting zooplankton and larval fish, our technicians collect samples of the benthos in the lake. Benthos are the organism that live in the benthic zone, or the bottom, of the lake. One type of benthos that we collected this week can be seen in the second photo. These bugs are commonly called stick bugs or sometimes water scorpions, not because of their relation to the desert creature, but because of their long legged appearance. These insects, while found often on aquatic plants waiting for other insects to prey upon, they cannot swim. This is just one example of over sixty different taxa that our technicians will identify from samples that are collected from Sam Parr Lake.