Habitats & Species

Managing wildlife resources in a state that has experienced intense land use from agriculture, and more recently urban development, is a real challenge. Invasive species are radically changing the vast inland seas of the Great Lakes, including Lake Michigan and its tributaries. We’re doing a lot of cutting edge work to keep our options open for the future, both ecologically and economically.

We are restoring a selection of species that were part of our natural and cultural history, including river otters, bald eagles, and osprey. These species uniquely lend themselves to restoration techniques, because their populations had declined but adequate habitat still existed in some parts of Indiana. Once the habitat is gone, restoration of associated wildlife species is no longer possible.

Restoring many of the other 550 species of non-game and endangered animals one at a time would be a daunting task. Therefore, we’ve chosen to manage for the habitat that they need to thrive. By using this strategy, we can be sure that all species will continue to have a place in the Indiana landscape. This is especially crucial for species that are so rare or unusual that we do not know much about their life history or survival requirements.

Habitat identification
Over 60 specific habitat types have been identified in Indiana, and Indiana State University (ISU) has researched and compiled data on these habitats using GIS databases. Specifically, ISU will compiled quantitative or index information on the total acreage, geographic distribution, patch size, native vs. non-native, vegetation diversity and relative abundance, ownership, and relative condition of the habitats. Additionally, ISU compiled historical trends in wildlife species occurrences for each of the habitat types in 1800, 1900, and 2000.

Wildlife guilds and representative species
Using the Indiana Academy of Science Revised Checklist of the Vertebrates of Indiana as a guide, technical experts listed all vertebrate wildlife species with their associated habitats, forming habitat guilds. Mussels were also included in the list as a placeholder for future invertebrate conservation needs. Wildlife professionals then selected wildlife species to serve as representatives of each guild. The selected species were identified, in part, to “paint a reasonable mental picture” of the associated habitat type to diverse user groups. One to three representative species were selected for each habitat.

Through this process, over 200 representative species have been selected within these major taxonomic groups:

Amphibians
Birds
Fish
Mammals
Mussels
Reptiles