Rare habitat at Joliet Junior College believed to shelter endangered species

For more than half of 2024, an intrepid professor and a trio of students chased evidence of a rare and elusive dragonfly through the remarkable habitat at Joliet Junior College, all thanks to an $8,500 grant from Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom’s College and the University Grant Program, given in tandem with the National Wildlife Federation.

JJC was the sole community college among the nationwide recipients, said Cheryl Heeneman, a biology professor and chair of the department of natural sciences, who successfully applied for the grant in partnership with student Max Battles. Heeneman also heads the JJC Natural Areas Committee.

From May to December, Heeneman and two additional students, Ashley Klinder and Wyatt Miller, worked to develop a monitoring program for the federally endangered Hine’s emerald dragonfly as well as threatened bats on the campus.

“We’re fortunate [at JJC] to have over 90 acres of natural areas, which include a lake, wetlands, woodlands and a restored dolomite prairie and fen,” Heeneman said. “We have cataloged all kinds of species diversity. … For over 40 years, the natural spaces [have been] used as land labs for biology and other courses as well. The community and our students use the natural areas for recreation.”

Welcoming nature lovers from dawn to dusk when the college is open are paved and nonpaved trails through the natural areas, as well as the campus’s 11-acre, certified arboretum, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary. The annual Party in the Arbie is held in April for Earth Month.

Tracking the emerald dragonfly

Using the grant funding, Heeneman and her team devised creative ways to close in on the Hine’s emerald dragonfly (Somatochlora hineana) – from an environmental type of DNA testing of their water samples to spying on the prairie burrowing crayfish (Cambarus diogenes) present on the campus, a species whose burrows are the sole ones used by Hine’s emerald dragonfly larvae to survive winters – so long as they avoid being eaten by their host.

“We’ll continue to monitor these fragile ecosystems, and hopefully we will find the Hine’s emerald dragonfly in its larval form. That would be very exciting because it would mean they are reproducing there.”

—  Cheryl Heeneman, JJC biology professor

The crayfish creates complex underground burrows in muddy areas on the side of streamlets, where the water inside does not freeze, Heeneman said.

When cameras were sent into the burrows, some of the startled crayfish seized hold of the endoscopes. While that search wasn’t conclusive, the cameras will be used again this winter, a prime time to take another peek.

The Hine’s emerald dragonfly is among the most critically endangered in the U.S., Heeneman said, adding that the search has been underway for a long time at JJC.

The dragonfly has bright green eyes and a metallic green body with yellow stripes along the side, according to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.

Identifying endangered species that exist and use the campus landscape would provide more opportunities for funding of research, habitat improvements and protection of the pristine natural areas.

The Hine’s emerald dragonfly can spend about five years as an aquatic organism followed by life as a terrestrial adult lasting only a month or two. It has a unique story, Heeneman said, noting that it coexists only with that one species of crayfish found in ecosystems that have slightly alkaline water and are stream-fed with a very low flow.

“Within our fen, we have this very unique and specialized ecosystem,” she said. “We’ll continue to monitor these fragile ecosystems, and hopefully we will find the Hine’s emerald dragonfly in its larval form. That would be very exciting because it would mean they are reproducing there – not just transient. We’re also trying to net adults, which is much more difficult.”

The grant provided an opportunity to buy equipment and develop methodologies for the search. The experience of months of field work, collaboration with experts and the presentation of findings at a conference is a rare one for community college students, she said, adding that “JJC is the first [public] community college in the country.”

“Although we don’t have … confirmation of this dragonfly. We still believe it’s likely to be there, and we’ll continue to look for it,” Heeneman said.

The grant also funded bat research on campus.

“They’re … using acoustic monitoring to survey [and] study endangered bat species, using data to install bat boxes and enhance habitat,” Cait Fallon, communications manager of the National Wildlife Federation, said in an email.

The recording of ultrasonic bat calls resulted in 16,000 acoustic files that will continue to be read aided by a software program that deciphers the sounds, Heeneman said. The calls are unique to species. New trail cameras will monitor the bat box activity.

Heeneman’s enthusiasm for both projects is infectious.

“I have had a passion for the natural world as long as I can remember – [back] when I was 4 years old,” she said. “I had parents that encouraged that. I’m grateful that I get to do for a living something that interests me so much. There’s always something new to explore.”

Learn more at jjc.edu/campus-life/sustainability/sustainable-campus-resources.