Looking back to move forward: using historical data to understand invasions with TJ Benson

Looking back to move forward: using historical data to understand invasions with TJ Benson

From Everyday Environment Podcast by Abigail Garofalo, Amy Lefringhouse, Erin Garrett

April 9, 2026 · 37 min · Episode 180

About this episode

TJ Benson discusses how historical data can help understand changes in plant and animal communities due to invasions in Illinois.

This week we welcome TJ Benson from the Illinois Natural History Survey to talk about the Critical Trends Assessment Program (CTAP), and how data collected can teach us how invasions have changed plant and animal communities in Illinois. Share your own Everyday Observation Was there something about this topic we didn’t cover? See something cool in nature? Let us know! Send us your question or share your everyday nature observation with us at go.illinois.edu/EEconnect , and we may share it in a future blog or podcast. Questions? We'd love to hear from you! Abigail Garofalo aeg9@illinois.edu , Erin Garrett emedvecz@illinois.edu , Amy Lefringhouse heberlei@illinois.edu Subscribe to our Newsletter Check out our Blog See the Everyday Environment Archives

People in this episode

Hosts: Abigail Garofalo, Erin Garrett, Amy Lefringhouse

Guest: TJ Benson

Topics covered

  • historical data
  • invasions
  • plant communities
  • animal communities
  • Critical Trends Assessment Program

Keywords

  • invasions
  • historical data
  • plant communities
  • animal communities
  • CTAP

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Illinois Natural History Survey

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