Introduction

We went to the Sugar Grove Nature Center in McLean, Illinois. Funks Grove is the
largest remaining intact prairie grove in the state of Illinois, having 1,000 acres. It is a protected
area of land registered as an Illinois Land & Water Reserve or a dedicated Illinois Nature
Preserve. The nature center itself is located on a 264 acre plot and is protected for the purpose
of sharing it with future generations.
At this time of year, a healthy prairie should be dominated by tall grasses and non-woody
plants. About eighty percent of the foliage should be made up of different species of grasses,
and the other twenty percent should be forbs or flowers. It should portray fall colors like orange,
brown, and purple. The soil of the prairie should quickly drain the ground of any excess
moisture. The plant roots of prairie plants help keep the soil fertile by growing deep into the soil.
The plants maintain the diversity by enticing animals with areas for habitats and food. Mammals
will choose the prairie site if the prairie has a high variety of plants, insects, and reptiles.
Our purpose of field data collection is to prove whether or not the prairie at Sugar Grove
Nature Center is healthy. By tallying the amount of insects and plants, we should be able to
calculate the biodiversity of the Nature Center and compare it to a healthy prairie.

The average temperature of Shirley, Illinois is 53.2 degrees fahrenheit. The fall average is 56.1
degrees fahrenheit.

Over the last thirty years, Shirley has had an average rainfall of 39.57 inches per year. The average
rainfall for the fall season is 9.67 inches.

The amount of rain per month this year is low compared to the monthly averages until the month
of June.

Methods
Because the health of a prairie ecosystem cannot be assessed solely by examining one
group of living thing ( prairie plants for example), we will collect data on as many parts of the
food web in the area as possible, as well as the overall biodiversity. The parts of the food web
we will be studying include prairie plants, mold, fungi, insects, other invertebrates, snakes and
reptiles, and evidence of larger mammals. The number of species and individuals will both be
collected in order to determine the health and biodiversity of Sugar Groves ecosystem.
Afterwards, we will attempt to piece together a functional food web. Our reasoning is that if we
find evidence of a wide array of biological niches, it will indicate a healthy, complex, and thriving
ecosystem. Large numbers of edible plants and herbivores such as grasshoppers will be sought
out, in order to provide a basis for a food web capable of sustaining both micro-predatory
species like soil centipedes, and macro-predatory species like birds and snakes.
Lists of native invertebrates will be compiled in addition to the supplied lists of prairie
plants, to supplement the work of other groups. In order to identify species, Kathryn, Brein, and
Kevin will set four stakes, creating a 10x10 meter grid for us to sample. Plants will be
categorized and observed through visual and tactile observations of living and dead specimens
Brein and Kathryn come across; no specimens will be cut or taken. Animals small enough to be
collected in the specimen container provided will be captured by hand, and be observed by
Kevin in the container until they and their niche in the ecosystem can be identified. Animals too
large to contain ( birds, snakes, etc.) will be identified purely based on sight, and their niches will
be inferred based on body structure and prior knowledge. Specimens will be collected primarily
from the undergrowth of the prairie in our grid, although noteworthy specimens outside of the
grid will be collected purely to gain a better understanding of the surrounding community.

After data on our specimens has been collected, their ecological niches will be
determined, and a potential food web will be mapped out, showing the predator/prey dynamics
found in a healthy prairie. The health and stability of the food web will be determined by the
number of species occupying each level of the web, and the number of individuals of each
species.

Conclusion
Our results were highly conclusive, and we were able to glean information from our
specimen data to obtain a clearer picture of Sugar Groves Prairie ecosystem. Based on the
sheer number of small, readily available prey items like Grasshoppers and Crickets, which were
observed feeding on almost every species of plant in the above chart, the community seemed to
be able to sustain diverse amounts of herbivorous, and carnivorous species. A varied array of
micropredatory organisms were found at all levels of the prairie, ranging from assassin bugs, to
orb-weaver spiders,as shown in the aforementioned chart. Such a wide range of predatory
species coexisting in a relatively modestly-sized community is evidence that the Sugar Grove
Prairie was sustaining a healthy and functioning ecosystem. Lending further credit to our
findings, is the presence of specialized detritivores found among the roots and soil of prairie
grasses. Decomposers like soil centipedes and pseudoscorpions, alongside bacteria too small
to observe, and presumably fungi, would undertake the role of breaking down and consuming
the remains of dead plants and animal matter. Detritivores typically require clean soil, free of
pollutants, since they spend much of their lives surrounded by it. Toxins and pollutants are
notorious for contaminating environments by leaching into the water and saturating soil. So, we
can conclude that the Prairie is devoid of high amounts of toxins based on the presence of
sensitive animals like the previously mentioned centipedes. The lack of rotting grasshopper or
cricket husks and vegetation also speak volumes about the health of Sugar Grove. No thriving
prairie allows corpses and dead organic matter to pile-up. This information, in conjunction with
the diverse range of decomposers found, and the established micropredatory activity, leads us
to believe that the detritivores are present in numbers high enough to balance out the death of
other organisms, allowing nutrients to return to the soil sustaining the rest of the ecosystem.
Based on the complex interspecies interactions, and diversity of high-functioning predators, we
can conclude that Sugar Groves Prairie supports a healthy and vibrant ecosystem.

Sources
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6.

http://www.nps.gov/tapr/learn/nature/a-complex-prairie-ecosystem.htm
http://sugargrovenaturecenter.org/history.html
http://www.museum.state.il.us/muslink/prairie/htmls/eco_plants.html
http://rainfall.weatherdb.com/l/23847/Shirley-Illinois
http://temperature.weatherdb.com/l/23769/Shirley-Illinois