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
Happy Thanksgiving!![]()
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Yesterday's #WhatIsItWednesday was a spur from a tom turkey's leg. The spur is a keratin covered bone that grows throughout the turkey's life, growing longer and sharper. These spurs can be used in defense and dominance displays. If you're wrestling a wild turkey for your Thanksgiving dinner, be careful of those spurs... better yet, tackle a female turkey as they usually don't have a spur!![]()
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Interesting fact - Did you know turkeys walk on their toes?![]()
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#thanksgiving ##türkey
UBAP program lead and ornithologist Anastasia Rahlin was invited to present at the 2023 Railroad Environmental Conference (RREC). Her talk, titled "Railway Ecology: Using Railway Corridors to Restore Native Habitats and Preserve Biodiversity," discussed the emerging field and made recommendations for future research. ![]()
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Read more on our blog:![]()
pace.inhs.illinois.edu/blog/![]()
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#railway #railwayecology #ecology #conservation
ARC program lead Ethan Kessler also presented a poster at The Wildlife Society annual meeting, "Reproductive output of forested ephemeral wetland-dependent amphibians across a modified landscape.”![]()
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He and his co-authors examined the effect of canopy cover and wetland size on the presence and abundance of egg masses of Spotted Salamanders and Wood Frogs in ephemeral ponds![]()
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Read more on our blog: pace.inhs.illinois.edu/blog/![]()
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#salamanders #frogs #amphbians #conservation #thewildlifesociety #tws2023
Last week UBAP program head and ornithologist Anastasia Rahlin presented a poster at The Wildlife Society 's annual conference, "“Using Point of Care devices to assess Marsh and Sedge Wren food limitation.". ![]()
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Rahlin used handheld meters to measure glucose, ketone, and triglyceride levels in birds. Using a small amount of blood, satiation, food stress, and long-term fat storage can be examined and monitor climate related effects on birds.![]()
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Read more on our website![]()
pace.inhs.illinois.edu/blog/![]()
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#birds #ornithology #physiology #climatechange #thewildlifesociety #TWS2023