There were several reasons for first establishing Indiana Dunes as a National Lakeshore and then a National Park. One of those reasons was the biological diversity. This national park is ranked fourth in biological diversity among the national parks despite having only 15,000 acres (6,070 hectares). The wildlife here is as diverse as Indiana Dunes’ ecosystems.
According to Park Staff:
Forty-six species of mammals, 18 species of amphibians, 23 species of reptiles, 71 species of fish, 60 species of butterflies, and 60 species of dragonflies and damselflies can be found here. The largest herbivore is the white-tailed deer while the largest predator is the coyote. Over 350 species of birds have been identified, with 113 of these being regular nesters. The national park also provides habitat for a great blue heron rookery and the federally endangered Karner blue butterfly.
Visit Indiana Dunes in the spring and summer to be regaled with the throaty repertoires of frog and toad choruses. Without a doubt, you will see squirrels, chipmunks, and maybe a vole or mouse in the grass, too. On a quiet morning, you might spot a white-tailed deer, and if you are really lucky, a red fox or coyote. Cast your eyes toward the Lake Michigan shoreline and perhaps a river otter will poke its head up and look back at you, since these semiaquatic mammals have been spotted in and around the park in recent years.
A male scarlet tanager at Central Beach, Indiana Dunes National Park / NPS file
If you are a birder or simply enjoy watching the birds, bring your binoculars or telephoto lens with you for a better look at those 350 confirmed bird species living within or migrating through the park. There are forests, foredunes, wetlands, and the Lake Michigan shoreline from which you might see a hawk, loon, grebe, gull, sandhill crane, bittern, sandpiper, or hummingbird, in addition to a multitude of songbirds including the red-winged blackbird, yellow warbler, Eastern towhee, and scarlet tanager.
Click here for a list of birds of the Indiana Dunes.
Dragonfly Mercury Project
As mentioned earlier, insects (including dragonflies) are a part of the diverse wildlife found at Indiana Dunes National Park.
Dragonfly larva, Indiana Dunes National Park / USGS
According to Park Staff:
As a foundational part of the aquatic food web, dragonfly larvae we collect each summer are tested for mercury in the environment, which helps us understand mercury contamination at higher levels of the food web.
According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS):
The Dragonfly Mercury Project (DMP) is a national surveillance, monitoring, and research program that brings together citizen engagement and education with scientific efforts to understand mercury (Hg) risks to protected areas. 2023 was the tenth year that Indiana Dunes National Park participated in the DMP.
Why is Indiana Dunes as well as other units of the National Park System concentrating on dragonflies and mercury? Dragonflies – well, dragonfly larvae – are considered the “canaries in the coal mine.” This insect reveals quite a bit about mercury contamination, the cause of 80 percent of fish consumption advisories in the United States.
Indiana Dunes National Park is not the only park involved with the DMP. There are around 100 other park units and protected lands engaged in this citizen science effort to understand and fight mercury contamination.
Featured In The National Parks Traveler
Dragonflies: The Canaries For Mercury In National Parks
People have increased the environmental presence of mercury, a volatile and toxic metal, by extracting it from the earth and releasing it to the air through (mostly) coal-burning, waste incineration, and gold mining. It falls back to land as rain, dust, and snow, and washes into lakes, streams, and wetlands, sometimes far away from the source. In aquatic settings, mercury works its way up the food chain, magnifying with each transfer from prey to predator, bug to fish, eventually reaching concentrations that harm wildlife and people. Mercury thus threatens places the National Park Service is charged with “preserving unimpaired.”
And it turns out that bugs, specifically dragonflies, are excellent indicators of mercury pollution. People are sometimes surprised to learn that dragonflies begin their life in water. Those flying jewels that have inspired culture and art for thousands of years are just the final adult stage that begins when an aquatic nymph casts off its skin, emerges into the air, and spreads its four wings to fly.
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