The objective of the Urban Biotic Assessment Program (UBAP) is to provide the Illinois Tollway with the ecological expertise needed to effectively and efficiently comply with state and federal environmental regulations, while also preserving habitats and species native to the Chicago Metropolitan Area.
INHS began its partnership with the Tollway in 2005, monitoring the endangered Blanding’s Turtle populations affected by the construction of the I355 extension.
This partnership has expanded and enables UBAP researchers to study the habitats and species of the Chicagoland area, and the challenges they face. Learn more about our research.
Download our report of activities from 2015-2020
KC is counting down the days until spring native bee surveys begin! In the meantime, they are going through the specimens they collected this past year and assigning an identification and ID number to each one. An exciting discovery made by the Pollinator Team in 2025 was a population of Macropis nuda (Dark-footed Loosestrife Bee) along the I-294 Tollway corridor. This find is especially significant because M. nuda was recently listed as state endangered by the Illinois Endangered Species Protection Board. For more information, see: dnr.illinois.gov/espb.html.![]()
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Macropis nuda has one of the most specialized life histories among native bees in North America. Females collect floral oils and pollen exclusively from native loosestrifes (Lysimachia spp.), which they use to construct and provision brood cells for their larvae. Because the genus Lysimachia does not produce nectar, adults also rely on a very limited suite of nectar plants, often including dogbane (Apocynum spp. – photo by Laura Rericha-Anchor, Cook County Forest Preserve District). These specialized relationships with specific host plants makes M. nuda especially vulnerable to habitat loss and floral simplification.![]()
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Illinois now has only three known extant populations; all associated with remnant wet meadow habitats. We are pursuing grant funding to study this newly discovered population and the two others in the state to better understand their distribution, habitat requirements, and conservation needs.
As we wrap up our year here in the PACE Lab, and prepare various reports, here's a map of places the Traveling Science Center visited this year. Blue dots are public events and yellow are school events. Were we near you this year? Want us to visit your school or community next year? Contact us!![]()
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tsc.inhs.illinois.edu
Join us on Friday when PACE Lab graduate student Emily Asche presents her thesis defense "Abundance, demography, and life-history variation of the Western Pond Turtles (Actinemys spp.) on California military installations."![]()
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Friday Dec 12th at 2pm at Forbes Natural History Building or on zoom![]()
go.illinois.edu/Lombardo
Ever wonder what entomologists do in the winter? We look at more bugs, of course! 🐝
It's American Frog Day! Many of us here in the midwest are covered in snow and slush today, so it might not seem like frog weather. What do frogs do in the winter?![]()
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Many species of aquatic frog hibernate deep underwater where they never reach freezing, but some species, like the Wood Frog, produce special proteins and large amounts of glucose to prevent ice crystals forming in their cells. They are able to hibernate in the leaf litter and be among the first frogs to breed in the spring here in Illinois.![]()
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If you need a taste of spring, check out our frog call video playlist linked in the comments.![]()
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#americanfrogday