Natural History (continued)

Forbes’concept of plant and animal surveys goes beyond that of a mere census. He proceeds to study the relationships among living things and between them and their environment; Forbes is thus recognized as the “father of ecology” (Hays 1980).

Forbes begins to publish the Bulletin of the Illinois Museum of Natural History in December 1876; it becomes the Bulletin of the State Laboratory of Natural History in 1878. In 1884, the Illinois Industrial University in Champaign-Urbana lures Forbes from Illinois State Normal University. The Laboratory remains in Normal, but the position of State Entomologist moves with Forbes to Champaign-Urbana. In 1885, the Laboratory moves to the Illinois Industrial University, which also becomes the University of Illinois.

Of Forbes’many interests, his strongest is aquatic ecology. He studies the distributions of fish, their food sources, and diseases. The complex environments of Illinois rivers and streams fascinate him, and in 1877 he publishes an early aquatic ecology study titled “The Lake as a Microcosm.” Forbes’abiding interest in rivers and streams leads him to establish a field station on the Illinois River at Havana in 1894. This is a unique university effort in that its primary mission is scientific investigation and not instruction.

Figure 11: The Anax, a Floating Laboratory on the Illinois River (Illinois Natural History Survey)

Forbes selects Havana as the site for his research station for several reasons: it is close to Champaign-Urbana via railroad; there is a good source of freshwater springs for a campsite; and it offers access to a relatively unpolluted stretch of the Illinois River. Forbes begins a massive study of the Illinois River with a few rented rooms and a small houseboat. The Anax (Figure 11) was used as a floating laboratory from 1935 until the mid 1940s.

Figure 12: Charles Kofoid (front) and Miles Newberry on Illinois River bottoms at high water in the early 1900s (Illinois Natural History Survey)

The purpose of this field station is to “contribute largely to a throroughgoing of scientific knowledge of the whole system of life existing in the waters of this State, with a view to economic as well as educational applications, and especially with reference to the improvement of fish culture and to the prevention of progressive pollution of our streams and lakes...” Researchers traveled the rivers collecting data (Figure 12).

By 1899, the University of Illinois becomes a major center of scientific investigation within the state. Stephen A. Forbes has tremendous influence with the University, the legislature, and within the scientific community. He promotes the founding of the State Water Survey as well as the State Geological Survey. So, by the end of the 19th century, scientific work in Illinois is held in high esteem both nationally and internationally. Forbes is the patriarch of science in Illinois and demonstrates the leadership to establish surveys to study geology and water, with an emphasis on the Illinois River.