Natural Resources & Environmental Sciences at Illinois

OUT IN THE FIELD: Kimberly Araya Guzman is measuring greenhouse gas emissions in organic farms after rain events and over various management practices. We're trying to estimate how much all that equipment weighs...

OUT IN THE FIELD: NRES undergrad Dhenu Patel is helping PEEC PhD student Kaylin Wallen collect invasive & native crayfish species throughout Illinois to compare their diets & potential ecosystem effects using a series of laboratory feeding experiments. Thanks to Dr. Eric Larson for sharing the photos!

Meanwhile in Urbana... (This makes us think of the "Talking Beaver on Highway" video - "Welcome to Canada! Welcome to Canada!")

OUT IN THE FIELD: Cody Hagloch is working on a One-Way Passage system that passively traps invasive fish species for management purposes. The main trap system - pictured here - is made of aluminum and 3D parts. 🐟🪤

🦁 🦒🦓🐘 More envy from the cornfields thanks to students in NRES 385: Wildlife Conservation & Habitat Management in South Africa - what a way to start the summer! (Okay, except maybe for that ONE 🕷 photo - EEK!)

OUT IN THE FIELD: Holly Coates is taking biosamples from insectivorus forest birds this summer, hoping to understand the health and quality of Midwestern forests from the perspective of the bird communities that depend on them.

Students in NRES 385: Cross-Cultural Exploration of Wetlands in Ireland visited the Cliffs of Moher and learned about the formation of karst landscapes and how they support Turloughs, a special seasonal lake that seeps up from cave systems and is unique to Ireland. (They may also have caused envy amongst those still ensconced in the cornfields...)

FLYING FRIEND FRIDAY. Thanks to Mike Avara from the Ward Lab of Ornithology, who coordinated the capture and release of "Smokey," a pigeon that possibly was interested in an internship. It managed to work its way from the roof of Turner Hall to a 2nd floor lab. Mike was ably assisted by Carlos and Sofia!

Dr. Benjamin Van Doren, his grad assistant Shu-Yueh “Winnie” Liao, and J’orge Garcia, executive director of Windy City Bird Lab, as the three installed an acoustic monitor more than 350 feet above East Wacker Drive in Chicago.

It’s Open Mic Night on Chicago Rooftops, Where Acoustic Devices Will Listen for Migrating Birds Most birds migrate over Chicago at night. A new network of acoustic monitors is tracking their movements by listening for what can't be seen.