River Institute’s Post

Exciting news! We are thrilled to share our latest blog post, "Islands of the Feral Pigs." This engaging piece delves into the fascinating dynamics of feral pig populations on remote islands, exploring their impact on local ecosystems and the challenges they pose to conservation efforts. Join us in uncovering the complexities of this subject and understanding the critical role these animals play in their environments. Read the full article here: [Islands of the Feral Pigs](https://ift.tt/U0Fal1f)

Illinois is comprised of several unique and diverse biomes, or terrestrial ecoregions, which include: wetland, prairie, forest, savanna, and lake communities. In the image attached, you will notice that Illinois is broken up into 15 natural divisions including Lake Michigan. According to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, "Natural Divisions are an important tool for recognizing biological variation across Illinois, and organizing regional needs, objectives and strategies of the Illinois Wildlife Action Plan." Barrington is situated in the Northeastern Morainal Natural Division of the state which hosts the greatest biodiversity as well as the largest human population in Illinois. This region is the most recently glaciated in Illinois. Drainage is poorly developed, thus abundant marshes, natural lakes, and bogs are distinctive features. For more information on the remaining 14 ecoregions of Illinois, visit the following link: https://lnkd.in/giVMzUxx Photo by: willyswilderness.org

Behavior and habitat affecting the distribution of five species of sympatric mudskippers in Queensland Bulletin of Marine Science 31(3): 730-735 1981 ISSN/ISBN: 0007-4977

"The History and Future of America's Public Land" Looking forward to this presentation by The Western Wildlife Conservancy on October 15, 2024 "... Many Americans use public lands for recreation and business but don’t understand how those lands came to be in the public domain. Join Walt Dabney, former National Park Service Superintendent and Texas State Park Director, to learn about: * The origin story of public lands; * The US Constitution and public lands; * Statehood acts/state constitutions and public lands; * How public lands became privately owned; * Why most public lands are in the West; * The creation of the US Forest Service, National Park Service, and the Bureau of Land Management; * The economic value of public lands; * Efforts to transfer public lands from public ownership." Link to register is attached https://lnkd.in/gvX8D47N Kirk Robinson #publicland #30x30 #Y2Y #Conservation #Wilderness #environment

Can we help adders multiply on the railway? 🐍 That’s the question put to ecologist Alex in this short film about some of the reptilian and amphibian wildlife that lives along the line: ➡️ https://lnkd.in/eFP3HryH #Biodiversity #Reptiles

You may not often offer it much consideration when you are walking over it or planting in it, but soil is a wonderfully complex and extraordinarily important thing that both us and our native wildlife owe much of our lives to! Learn more about how soil is an essential resource that is responsible for providing a whole host of critical ecosystem functions and services: https://lnkd.in/e9uBpe2g

Did you know? Mosquitofish introductions outside of their native ranges have lasting and detrimental impacts on native ecosystems, and often outcompete native fishes of similar size for resources such as food and habitat space. Their control on mosquito populations has also been deemed ineffective. Learn more by visiting our new species profile: https://bit.ly/3VCffSN

Keystone plants are native plants critical to the food web and necessary for many wildlife species to complete their life cycle. Without keystone plants in the landscape, butterflies, native bees, and birds will not thrive. 96% of our terrestrial birds rely on insects supported by keystone plants. The research of Dr Doug Tallamy and his team at the University of Delaware have identified 14% of native plants (the keystones) support 90% of butterfly and moth lepidoptera species. According to Tallamy, landscapes without keystone plants will support 70–75% fewer caterpillar species than a landscape with keystone plants, even though it may contain 95% of the native plant genera in the area.

Spinosaurs, dromaeosaurs & tyrannosaurs in the lower English Wealden: analysis of a tooth-based fauna from the Wadhurst Clay Formation https://lnkd.in/eGTF-sRh

Minnesota has some 30 lakes with populations of the invasive rusty crayfish. And like any of the 353 crayfish species in the U.S., rusties dine on aquatic vegetation. The problem is that once this particular species gets into a lake, their population explodes and they push out the native crayfish. Then the rusty crayfish chomp away. That adds one more threat out of many to Minnesota’s culturally and ecologically important wild rice. https://lnkd.in/gcGrueXu