20 / OutdoorIllinois January 2007 January 2007 OutdoorIllinois / 21
Cave
Amphipods
The Illinois cave amphipod
(Gammarus acherondytes)
is a small crustacean (relat-ed
to shrimp) that inhabits
underground streams of sev-eral
cave systems in southwestern Illi-nois—
an area called the sinkhole plain
because of the high density of sinkholes
and caves in the bedrock limestone.
The cave amphipod’s survival
depends on the quality of the groundwa-ter.
In the sinkhole plain, surface activi-ties
strongly affect the groundwater
because it is extremely shallow, allowing
virtually no filtering to occur before water
enters caves
through sinkholes.
The close connec-tion
of surface and
ground water
allows pollutants,
such as road
runoff, human and
livestock waste, pesticides and other
chemicals to be transported almost
directly into the habitat of the amphipod.
Water quality is critical for this
species. Protection measures include
strategies to reduce development in
sensitive areas, protect natural habitat
buffering sinkholes, prevent dumping
and spilling into sinkholes and cleaning
old sinkhole dumps that may be leach-ing
toxic chemicals.
—Diane Tecic, Regional Administrator,
DNR Division of Natural Heritage
Deep within the caves of southwestern Illinois, the existence
of one invertebrate species hinges on water quality.
A Case of Mussel Atrophy
Freshwater mussels are one of
the most endangered groups of
animals in North America. Sur-veys
conducted over the past
few decades have documented
significant declines in mussel populations
across the entire continent. Among the
factors thought to be responsible for the
decline are over-harvest; siltation of their
habitat from poor land management,
channelization and impoundments; com-petition
from exotic species such as the
zebra mussel; and pollution by herbicides,
pesticides and other chemicals.
Illinois once supported 80 species of
mussels and a large and vibrant mussel
fishery. Today, 20 species are no longer
found in the state; six of these are totally
extinct. An additional 25 are either listed
as threatened or endangered or are very
rare. Only 35 of the original 80 species
can still be found with some regularity in
our streams.
The Department of Natural Resources,
in cooperation with the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service and state of Ohio, have
begun a recovery project for two mussels,
the clubshell (Pleurobema clava) and the
northern riffleshell (Epioblasma turulosa
rangiana). The clubshell, formerly known
from many sites in the Wabash River
drainage, is one of the rarest mussels in
Illinois, known only from a single location.
The northern riffleshell has not been seen
alive in Illinois since the early 1900s but
numerous relict shells suggest that it, too,
was widespread in the Wabash River
drainage. With improved water quality
and awareness of the importance of
streamside vegetation and erosion con-trol,
conditions are favorable for the recov-ery
of these species in Illinois.
—Kevin Cummings, Center for
Biodiversity, Illinois Natural History Survey,
and Bob Szafoni, District Heritage
Biologist, DNR Division of Natural Heritage
Freshwater mussel populations are shrinking in Illinois—
some species are gone forever. Crucial to the survival of any
endangered species is a com-prehensive
understanding of
suitable habitat and a distinc-tive
management plan which
encourages permanent habitat protection
and sustainable, healthy populations.
These items are typically addressed by
biologists in a formal document known as
a Recovery Plan.
The Illinois Endangered Species Pro-tection
Act, passed in 1972, mandates
that the Department of Natural
Resources (DNR) actively plan and
implement programs for the conserva-tion
of endangered/threatened species
with the advice of the Illinois Endan-gered
Species Protection Board. Pro-grams
may include research, manage-ment,
habitat acquisition and education
of the general public. Recovery plans
provide the format by which biologists
can officially describe the recovery
goals, objectives and criteria for a listed
species. These technical documents
typically advocate an overall goal of re-establishing
native, listed plants or ani-mals
in suitable habitats, monitoring
populations and conserving key habitats
to ensure the long-term viability of the
species. The target area can be as gen-eral
as across all of North America, or a
specific county within Illinois. A number
of state recovery plans have been pre-pared
and published to date by DNR
including: river otter (Lontra canaden-sis),
Eastern wood rat (Neotoma flori-dana),
greater prairie-chicken (Tympa-nuchus
cupido) and alligator snapping
turtle (Macrochelys temminckii).
The river otter recovery plan has
been successfully implemented and this
animal was officially removed from the
state’s endangered and threatened
species list in September 2004.
Translocation/re-introduction efforts for
the Eastern wood rat continue in extreme
southern Illinois and post-release monitor-ing
is yielding positive results.
Intensive grassland habitat acquisi-tion
and prairie management for the
greater prairie-chicken continues in
southeastern Illinois, and DNR is investi-gating
the feasability of prairie-chicken
survival on other large grassland com-plexes,
such as the Midewin National
Tallgrass Prairie near Joliet.
Initial translocation efforts for the alli-gator
snapping turtle will begin in the
lower Mississippi River drainage in 2007
and continue for the next 10 to 15 years.
With the availability of several new
state and federal conservation initiatives
such as SWG (State Wildlife Grants),
LIP (Landowner Incentive Program) and
WHIP (Wildlife Habitat Incentive Pro-gram),
DNR has the unique opportunity
to partner with various conservation
organizations and citizens groups.
These partnerships will greatly con-tribute
toward and facilitate the contin-ued
recovery of Illinois’ most imperiled
plant and animal species. There are
many conservation challenges ahead in
the 21st century and the key to success
remains cooperation.
—Joe Kath, Terrestrial Endangered
Species Project Manager, DNR Division of
Natural Heritage
Recovery Plans
The science of restoring endangered species depends
upon good data, suitable habitat—and a plan.
Riivveerr otttteerr ((Lonttrra ccanadeenssiiss))
Easstteerrn wood rratt ((Neeottoma ffllorriidana))
(Photo by Frank Wilhelm, SIU-C, Zoology Department.)
(Photo by Kevin Cummings)
(Photo courtesy Michael Jeffords.)
(Photo courtesy Joe McFarland.)
