AUTHORS: Madelynn M. Sinclair, University of Chicago; Michelle E. Thompson, San Diego Natural History Museum; Thomas G. Anton, The Field Museum; Sara Ruane, The Field Museum
ABSTRACT: Will County is the most herpetologically rich county in northeastern Illinois, with 18 amphibian and 25 reptile species known to occur in the region. It is also home to the extensive Forest Preserve District of Will County, which has grown steadily since its founding in 1927 and now covers 23,119 acres of land. However, Will County is becoming increasingly urbanized, and many of the preserves border or are surrounded by residential and industrial development. Beginning in 2022, we have been conducting resurveys of these forest preserves to learn how the herpetofauna of Will County has survived, thrived, or been displaced since the last comprehensive compilation in 2015 (which was primarily based on surveys from 1986-2009). We present here the results of these ongoing surveys, summarizing our observations thus far of the relative abundance and distribution of amphibians and reptiles in comparison to historical datasets. We have, so far, collected tissue and/or vouchers of 15 amphibian and 24 reptile species. These modern records may inform management efforts on how their work is affecting local amphibians and reptiles. We have also added dozens of specimens and hundreds of tissues to the collection of the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, helping create a library of modern voucher and genetic materials for work on midwestern amphibian and reptile diversity.
