Ecological survey of the flora of Wilkinson Swampages

Includes bibliographical references (leaf 33)The disciplines of the Biological Sciences are many and varied, and it was difficult to single out a particular area in which to do my graduate research. During my days at Northern Illinois University I have been intro­duced to many new fields and concepts, and it would have been interesting to have made a study in any one of those fields. I decided to do an ecological survey because it was the field of study I enjoyed the most. The first purpose of this investigation was to map out the successional stages of Wilkinson Swamp as they existed in 1959. Correlated with this reason was an attempt to determine some of the factors for the condition of the swamp. Within the last decade the area had progressed from an area of completely open water to its state at the time of this study, where only a small portion of open water remained in the center of the swamp. With the passing of another decade many more changes will have occurred, and by doing this study, a record would be obtained of the conditions that existed at a give date. A second purpose of this paper was to obtain a bettor background and understanding of aquatic biology. The Department of Biological Sciences at Northern Illinois University did not offer any courses in aquatic biology and it was my opinion that by undertaking this study I would become bettor acquainted with the subject and would therefore be a better teacher. The final purpose of this paper was the hope that an interest in Wilkinson Swamp as a resource area might be developed. Several members of the staff of the Department of Biological Sciences already use the swamp as a resource area, but many biology majors graduate and never have the opportunity to visit this area. I feel that much information can be learned at the swamp and that the swamp should be used if it is possible.M.S. (Master of Science