Founded in 1909, it has grown to include approximately 150 buildings, including classrooms, student cabins, dormitories, a dining hall, and research facilities. Undergraduate and graduate courses are available in the spring and summer terms. It has a full-time staff of 15. In the 2000s, UMBS is increasingly focusing on the measurement of
climate change. Its field researchers are gauging the impact of
global warming and increased levels of atmospheric
carbon dioxide on the
ecosystem of the upper Great Lakes region, and are using field data to improve the
computer models used to forecast further change. Several archaeological digs have been conducted at the station as well. UMBS field researchers sometimes call the station "bug camp" amongst themselves. This is believed to be due to the number of
mosquitoes and other insects present. It is also known as "The Bio-Station". The UMBS is also home to Michigan's most endangered species and one of the most endangered species in the world: the
Hungerford's Crawling Water Beetle. The species lives in only five locations in the world, two of which are in Emmet County. One of these, a two and a half mile stretch downstream from the Douglas Road crossing of the East Branch of the Maple River supports the only stable population of the Hungerford's Crawling Water Beetle, with roughly 1000 specimens. This area, though technically not part of the UMBS is largely within and along the boundary of the University of Michigan Biological Station. UMBS is also the home of the Great Lakes
Piping Plover captive rearing facility. The Great Lakes population of this shorebird is federally endangered, but thanks to extensive conservation efforts the population is on the rise. ==External links==