Crow Island BioBlitz
An Ecoregional Survey by Ryan and James
Plants
Jewelweed
This orange flower was very noticeable and in the sun, it was sticking out into the trail and asking for attention.
Short, Green Plant with Pods
This plant was on the edge of the trail. It's distinguishing feature is the large pods at the base of the plant that are spiky and hard.
BaneBerry
These red berries were nestled in the lower lying leaves of the plants around it.
Purple Aster
This Purple Aster is part of the shrubbery, it's purple flowers help it stand out and has skinny green leaves.
Choke Berry
This is the most poisonous plant in Illinois, 4 micrograms of this plants' root could kill you.
White Snakeroot
This plant was on the edge of the trail, it has a multitude of white flowers and was larger than the plants around it.
Animals
Bee on Goldenrod
There were a multitude of bees around this Goldenrod, it must have been very high in pollen.
Bird's Nest
There is a rather large bird's nest in this tree, there was also a lot of evidence of other bird's activity in the woods, a woodpecker, bird calls, and hummingbirds.
Fungi
Mushroom
This large bowl-shaped mushroom was in the underbrush, nestled between two felled logs.
Botrytis and Moss
Botrytis, which is a mix between a plant and a fungus, was common on felled logs and other wood. Moss, on the other hand, is a plant but is commonly found along with Botrytis not unlike this picture.
Mushrooms
These two mushrooms were smaller and on the trail, they were yellow-brown and barely rise above the woodchips.
WERE SPECIES EVENLY DISTRIBUTED ACROSS THE SITE OR DID YOU FIND GREATER VARIETY IN PARTICULAR AREAS? IF THERE WERE DISTRIBUTION DIFFERENCES, WHERE DID YOU FIND THE GREATEST DIVERSITY? EXPLAIN.
The species were not quite evenly distributed across the woods, there were some clearings where the plants were not quite as thick and there was less species density. Most of the plants were along the path, possibly because they are trying to get more space/sunlight by reaching into the trail.
WHAT FACTORS MIGHT HAVE AFFECTED THE NUMBER OF SPECIES you FOUND? WHAT KINDS OF ORGANISMS HAVE YOU PROBABLY MISSED?
Finding animals like birds or squirrels was difficult because of the number of people on the trail, the birds and squirrels retreated into alcoves or to other areas where we weren't able to record them.
DID YOU FIND ANY SPECIES NATIVE TO ILLINOIS? ANY NONNATIVE SPECIES? ANY INVASIVE SPECIES?
Most of the species we found were native to Illinois, bees, goldenrod, and many wildflowers. There were Emerald Ash Borers which are an invasive species in the Crow Island Woods at one time but we were unable to find any in our time there.
WHAT DO YOU THINK COULD BE DONE TO INCREASE THE BIODIVERSITY OF THE CROW ISLAND WOODS?
Keeping human activity to the minimum after creating food and resources for birds, squirrels and more area for new plants.