The tallgrass prairie once dominated much of the mid-western United States. Today, this highly productive system has been severely reduced, contributing to an array of environmental problems. The recent renaissance in natural area restoration and stewardship of the tallgrass prairie in the Chicago Wilderness region (Illinois, USA), especially in the...
The environmental and plant physiological correlates of plant growth and reproductive effort in the locally threatened orchid, Cypripedium candidum Muhl. ex Willd were examined in the context of a conceptual model of demographic and reproductive trade-offs, focusing on three Illinois populations. This study addresses the current status and long-term trends...
Plant-aphid systems provide a valuable opportunity for studying the ecological consequences of land use change for interacting species. The North American tallgrass prairie has undergone severe reduction and fragmentation due to agricultural development. The prairie perennial Echinacea angustifolia, a model system for studying population-level effects of habitat fragmentation, hosts a...
The introduction of non-native pests in general, and invasive plants in particular, has been receiving increasing interest by scientists, environmental groups, and to a certain extent the general public. Deleterious effects from the release of such alien species include threats to the environment, national economies, and even human health. The...
Hybridization is an important evolutionary pathway to genetic diversity, fitness, and ultimately to the emergence of new species. In contrast, hybridization between a native and an introduced species can lead to a loss of locally adapted gene complexes and ultimately to the extinction of the native. In the last decade,...
Fire is an agent of ecosystem change that has played a critical role in shaping the tallgrass prairie ecosystem. Periodic prescribed fire maintains the prairie by removing woody and invasive plant species, and stimulating growth of native herbaceous species. Fire’s beneficial effect on the tallgrass prairie aboveground community, in terms...
Due to concerns about population declines and habitat destruction, secretive marsh birds (SMBs) are of high conservation concern at state, regional, and national levels. Gaps in research on SMB habitat pose barriers to conservation and wetland restoration efforts.
Trees in urban areas offer ecosystem services like carbon sequestration, storm water attenuation, reduction of energy used in buildings and wildlife habitat. Cities invest substantial funds and resources to maintain a healthy urban forest, and much research has been done to improve its resiliency and sustainability. Studies have been done...
Understanding the factors that drive the maintenance of polymorphisms in plant populations has long been of interest to evolutionary biology. Variation in floral traits has often been attributed to selection by pollinators, but recent evidence suggests that other biotic and abiotic agents may also contribute to floral trait differentiation. In...
Climate change, whether referring to historic ice ages or contemporary shifts in global climate patterns, has been linked to wide-ranging and regionally variable changes in biotic communities.