In recent decades, the conversion of natural habitat to human use has proceeded at a greatly accelerated pace. This habitat destruction and degradation has resulted in the loss of much of the world's biodiversity. Some ...

The use of nitrogenous fertilizers to amend soil fertility has had a drastic effect on the global nitrogen cycle as excess nitrogen has contaminated surface waters, leading to marine hypoxic zones. One of the largest ...

Human modification of the landscape, including urbanization and road construction, has facilitated the spread and establishment of non-native plant species. Urban areas have often been introduction points for species and ...

I also determined whether parents or offspring control the quantity of investment in offspring. Big brown bat mothers allocated resources differently to their sons and daughters and directed higher levels of aggression ...

Spring migration is an understudied, but important time for waterfowl as conditions faced during this period may affect reproductive success. Therefore, increasing our understanding of waterfowl ecology during spring is ...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) finalized its Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR) and Clean Air Visibility Rule emission regulations in 2005, to limit emissions of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and particulate ...

I investigated mechanisms responsible for generating distribution patterns of tree squirrels in the agricultural landscape of eastern Illinois. I surveyed mammalian species richness in 10 forest remnants and found that 7 ...

Prairies have become a globally endangered resource. In Illinois, the pervasiveness of agriculture has resulted in an almost complete loss of natural prairie. Wildlife associated with prairie and grassland has concomitantly ...

Shrubland birds are among the fastest declining groups of birds over the past 50 years. Habitat loss and degradation are proposed as being major drivers, but the underlying causes of these declines are unknown. I investigated ...

It has been widely debated whether producing ethanol from corn is sustainable in the long term. Environmentally, the major concern is that producing ethanol from corn involves intensive water and energy consumption. ...