The USI Nature Preserve comprises 730 acres of mostly mesic forest land adjacent to campus. Since its creation in 2010, several research projects involving dozens of students have been conducted in the areas of biology, geology, and engineering. The combination of the size of the preserve and its proximity to campus is unique among Indiana colleges and universities.
Our students have the opportunity to work in the USI Nature Preserve as part of coursework and as part of research projects. This location has been the source of multiple peer reviewed publications and presentations involving our students.
Students checking traps as part of a research project in the USI Nature Preserve
USI Biology students seining for fish as part of their coure experiences.
USI Nature Preserve Limestone Stream Bed
USI Nature Preserve Lake
USI Nature Preserve Woods
Biology Publications from the USI Nature Preserve
McCloud, E. and J. Bandoli. 2018. Construction of a suburban-rural recreational trail produces developing edge effects. Proceedings of the Indiana Academy of Science, 127:28-36.
Bandoli, J. 2016. Filial cannibalism in spottail darters (Etheostoma squamiceps) includes the targeted removal of infected eggs. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 70:617-624.
Vertebrate surveys as part of the process of creating a nature preserve in southwestern Indiana. E. Haines, J. Behrens, J. Bandoli, Indiana Academy of Science (poster), 2012.