University of Mississippi Field Station

In July 1947, the area that is now the UMFS opened as Ole Miss Fisheries, Inc., a fish farm that later became Minnows Incorporated and operated by the Herbert Kohn Corporation. The fish farm comprised of bottomland along the Bay Springs Branch of Puskus Creek that was purchased from the Hickey family. The original ponds were irregularly arranged, filled from springs through pipes in the levees, and emptied via standpipes in the corner of each pond. After the original ponds, newer ponds had concrete outlet structures for drainage, and most current ponds have PVC standpipes. Several agencies have or continue to support projects at the field station including the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks, USDA Agricultural Research Service National Sedimentation Laboratory, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Peace Corps, Shell Development Corporation, Zoecon, ABC Laboratories, Mississippi Mineral Resources Institute, and Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences. ==Geography and geology==

The UMFS encompasses of the Eocene hills of the interior Gulf Coastal Plain along the headwater streams of the Little Tallahatchie River. The UMFS is within the designated borders of Holly Springs National Forest, although none of the directly adjoining land is managed or owned by the U.S. Forest Service. The soils at the field station are primarily sandy and sandy-loam soils. The soils were originally primarily loess but were severely degraded from forest clearing and poor agricultural practices that occurred after European settlement in 1832. There are several springs in the area that provide a year-round supply of water to the field station's streams and ponds. Elevations range from just under above sea level along the lower section of Bay Springs Branch to over on the northern edge of the field station. ==Ecology==

'' at UMFS The UMFS is in the Northern Hilly Gulf Coastal Plain level IV ecoregion, within the Southeastern Plains level III, Southeastern USA Plains level II, and Eastern Temperate Forests Level I ecoregions. In addition to ponds, habitats include wetlands, mowed fields, and closed canopy mixed forests. Long-term vegetation monitoring plots were established in 1996 following a severe ice storm in 1994 and a pine bark beetle infestation in 1995. The Yazoo darter (Etheostoma raneyi), a fish endemic to headwater streams of the Tallahatchie and Yocona river systems of north Mississippi, can be found at the field station. The cottonmouth is the most common snake, having been estimated as being fourteen times more common than the next most common snake species. American alligators have rarely been reported, although none of these reports have been verified with photographs or captured individuals. ==Research and education==

Research and education facilities include two buildings with offices and laboratories, a greenhouse, a wild turkey aviary, an education building with an auditorium, teaching laboratories, and offices, and a cabin for visiting researchers. The field station hosts field trips for elementary through college courses, with about 2000 visitors per year, including an annual summer ecology day camp for children in grades 2-6. Part of the National Institute for Undersea Science and Technology was based at the field station. ==References==