CFR News Wildlife & Fisheries Stories


One-of-a-kind toad born through MSU pioneering technology that's saving threatened species

One-of-a-kind toad born through MSU pioneering technology that's saving threatened species

A Mississippi State University partnership with the Fort Worth Zoo has hatched the first of more than 30 metamorphosed toadlets produced through in vitro fertilization.

A Puerto Rican crested toad named Olaf, hatched at the Fort Worth Zoo this year, is what one might call a work of art. ART, or assisted reproductive technologies, developed by scientists in the university's Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station and the ...


MSU's Kevin Hunt named Sharp Professor of Human Dimensions

MSU's Kevin Hunt named Sharp Professor of Human Dimensions

The College of Forest Resources at Mississippi State University is honoring a wildlife, fisheries and aquaculture faculty member with the esteemed Sharp Professorship.

"We congratulate Dr. Kevin Hunt on this great honor," said George Hopper, dean of the College of Forest Resources and director of the Forest and Wildlife Research Center. "For nearly 20 years, Dr. Hunt's research in human dimensions as it pertains to wildlife has helpe...


MSU researchers make surprising wolf diet discovery, highlight ecosystem complexities

MSU researchers make surprising wolf diet discovery, highlight ecosystem complexities

Mississippi State University researchers are shifting commonly held ideas about the diet of grey wolves in a newly published article gaining national attention.

Published in the scientific journal "Ecology," MSU assistant professor Brandon Barton's Sept. 18 article "Grasshopper consumption by grey wolves and implications for ecosystems" details the unexpected effects of wolf reintroduction into the western region of the U.S.

MSU ...


MSU collaborates on $3.9 million NOAA grant to help Gulf Coast birds, conserve biodiversity

MSU collaborates on $3.9 million NOAA grant to help Gulf Coast birds, conserve biodiversity

Mississippi State University scientists are receiving a five-year, $3.9 million grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's RESTORE Science Program to increase understanding of how birds use the Gulf of Mexico, helping resource managers improve habitat for coastal species.

The MSU-led group is one of only four teams of researchers and resource managers from across 20 institutions including universities, federal and s...


A quill in the cap for quail management

A quill in the cap for quail management

A century ago, the bobwhite quail, named for its distinctive whistle, was common throughout the Southeast. In 1966, however, scientists began tracking a drastic population drop. Over the next fifty years, the species declined by 85 percent. Forest and Wildlife Research Center scientists are doing their part in restoration efforts of this granivore, whose storied legacy is steeped in tradition.

Not only was the bobwhite's song once ubiq...


MSU associate professor receives Fulbright grant for research in Chile

MSU associate professor receives Fulbright grant for research in Chile

An aquaculture scientist in Mississippi State's Forest and Wildlife Research Center is the newest university faculty member to receive the prestigious Fulbright grant to conduct research abroad as part of the U.S. Department of State's flagship exchange program.

The associate professor in the MSU Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Aquaculture in the College of Forest Resources is spending the next six months conducting research at...


MSU joins Urban Wildlife Information Network

MSU joins Urban Wildlife Information Network

Have you ever considered all of the wildlife that live hidden around your neighborhood, tucked in small patches of woods? Where does the raccoon that riffles through the garbage bin or the deer that eats your mother's azaleas go once the sun rises at dawn?

Researchers from Mississippi State University are teaming up with the Urban Wildlife Information Network (UWIN) to discove...


How to handle raccoons, snakes and other critters in your yard (hint: not with a thermos)

How to handle raccoons, snakes and other critters in your yard (hint: not with a thermos)

I heard a local story of a man who, in his excitement to kill a rattlesnake, used the only thing he had available&emdash;his thermos bottle. The next scene in this drama has the man in the hospital receiving anti-venom to treat a snake bite.

Encounters with wildlife are becoming more common in towns and neighborhoods as urbanization increases, and people often do not know what to do in these situations. Many species of urban wildlife, s...


MSU wildlife professor named Taylor Chair in Applied Big Game Research and Instruction

MSU wildlife professor named Taylor Chair in Applied Big Game Research and Instruction

A longtime Mississippi State faculty member has been named the Taylor Chair in Applied Big Game Research and Instruction in the College of Forest Resources.

Steve Demarais, a Dale H. Arner Professor of Wildlife Ecology and Management in the Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Aquaculture, is a leading white-tailed deer researcher who has been with the university for more than 20 years. In that time, Demarais has published more than...


Our People: Ethan Woodyard

Our People: Ethan Woodyard

For wildlife, fisheries and aquaculture senior Ethan Woodyard, the best part about his major and research opportunities in the College of Forest Resources is doing hands-on work.

"We're out in the field all of the time, and I really like that about the major," said Woodyard, who now has had two first-author manuscripts published on his parasitology research.

As a student worker with the MSU College of Veterinary Medicine's...


As nation celebrates independence, MSU students, employees prepare for Middle East deployment with Mississippi Army National Guard

As nation celebrates independence, MSU students, employees prepare for Middle East deployment with Mississippi Army National Guard

A year ago, Keanna Rush was preparing to enroll at Mississippi State University after taking time off from school to go through basic training and join the Mississippi Army National Guard and its 155th Armored Brigade Combat Team (ABCT). Shortly before the 2017 fall semester began, Rush learned her education would once again be placed on hold as her unit would be deploying to the Middle East in support of Operation Spartan Shield.

A Phil...


These Fish Keep Forests Alive—And Fishing Threatens Them

These Fish Keep Forests Alive—And Fishing Threatens Them

If the forests of South America are the world's lungs, their rivers and wetlands must be its veins and arteries. This is the most diverse continent when it comes to plant life, and it's thanks in part to the fish swimming through its waterways.

Freshwater fishes consume about 600 neotropical plant species. The largest of fruit-eating fish in Brazil''s Pantanal—a 70,000 square-mile floodplain the size of Washington state with as muc...


MSU takes all at Southeastern Deer Study Group competition

MSU takes all at Southeastern Deer Study Group competition

Faculty and students in Mississippi State University's College of Forest Resources took top honors at the recent 41st annual meeting of the Southeastern Deer Study Group, marking the first time in the conference's four-decade history that one school has swept the competition.

MSU graduate students in MSU's Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Aquaculture took first, second and third place in the annual student oral presentation comp...


MSU research tracks turkey movement, habitat use

MSU research tracks turkey movement, habitat use

Turkey season opens on March 15, and hunters will take to the field in search of the elusive gobbler. Most likely, they will find less of the popular game species than in previous years due to changing landscapes.

For this reason, Mississippi State University scientists and student researchers in the College of Forest Resources, in collaboration with biologists in the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks, are trac...


New MSU study evaluates wetland restoration efforts along Gulf of Mexico

New MSU study evaluates wetland restoration efforts along Gulf of Mexico

A new Mississippi State research project will study a wetland restoration approach along the Gulf of Mexico, and findings will help improve future environmental restoration efforts.

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and the organization's Gulf Research Program recently announced that the MSU project is among five newly funded projects focused on enhancing environmental restoration outcomes, along with two ...


No longer stumped: mineral stumps provide white-tailed deer nutrition

No longer stumped: mineral stumps provide white-tailed deer nutrition

It has long been a mystery why white-tailed deer devour the sprouts from recently cut tree stumps. A Mississippi State assistant professor in the Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Aquaculture has figured out why&emdash;and developed a simple, cost-effective management technique to help support white-tailed deer during seasons of poor forage.

Marcus Lashley said the tree species that populate southeastern forests are notoriously n...


MSU professor named St. John Family Endowed Professor

MSU professor named St. John Family Endowed Professor

A longtime Mississippi State faculty member has been named the St. John Family Endowed Professor of Wildlife Management in the College of Forest Resources.

Bronson Strickland, a wildlife, fisheries and aquaculture extension professor, has led a wide-ranging educational program in applied wildlife science since his arrival at MSU in 2006. In the last five years, he has participated in more than 70 workshops, assisting landowners with ...


National Geographic features MSU faculty research

National Geographic features MSU faculty research

Ecological research by faculty members in Mississippi State University's Forest and Wildlife Research Center and Department of Biological Sciences is featured in a recent article by National Geographic.

Titled "How a 3-Ton Mess of Dead Pigs Transformed This Landscape," the article discusses a mass mortality experiment led by Marcus Lashley, assistant professor of wildlife, fisheries and aquaculture at MSU's College of Forest Resource...


Wes Burger of MSU honored again for quail science leadership

Wes Burger of MSU honored again for quail science leadership

A much-honored Mississippi State faculty member is receiving yet another recognition for significant contributions to quail science.

Loren W. "Wes" Burger is among three selections for a 2017 National Quail Symposium Award of Excellence, a career tribute from the Tennessee-based National Bobwhite Conservation Initiative and Bobwhite Technical Committee.

Associate director of the university's Forest and Wildlife Research Cent...


Alumni couple extends student and faculty support at MSU

Alumni couple extends student and faculty support at MSU

Mississippi State University alumni Drew and Kathy St. John of Madison are contributing two new gifts to their alma mater, creating an endowed professorship in the College of Forest Resources and furthering support for the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences' Department of Landscape Architecture.

The St. John Family Endowed Professorship in Wildlife Management will provide support for a professor in the Department of Wildlife, Fishe...


Conservation camps offer educational fun

Conservation camps offer educational fun

The conclusion of the school year does not mean learning must end, too.

The Mississippi State University Extension Service and the MSU College of Forest Resources are offering three summer youth camps in June. These Conservation Camps are designed to engage and excite young people in natural science and nature-based outdoor recreation. Hands-on learning, outdoor activity, and new friends and experiences are central to all three camps...


MSU hosts Southeastern Wildlife Conclave

MSU hosts Southeastern Wildlife Conclave

Mississippi State served as the 2017 host recently for the Southeastern Wildlife Conclave, which annually provides college students with valuable hands-on training in wildlife management and conservation.

Activities included a range of team field competitions, quiz bowl, art and photography contests, guest speakers and opportunities for professional development.

Pictured, MSU senior wildlife, fisheries and aquaculture major...


Hal Schramm of MSU named American Fisheries Society Fellow

Hal Schramm of MSU named American Fisheries Society Fellow

A U.S. Geological Survey fisheries research biologist who also teaches at Mississippi State is receiving a major international recognition.

Hal Schramm recently was designated a Fellow of the American Fisheries Society in tribute to his four decades of service. Specifically, he was cited for excellence in leadership, research, mentoring, resource management and public outreach.

In addition to leading USGS's Mississippi Coop...


MSU researchers map genetic deer structure in Southeastern U.S.

MSU researchers map genetic deer structure in Southeastern U.S.

Hunters throughout Mississippi hope to find a big buck this Saturday [Nov. 19], the start of deer season. It is well understood by hunters and biologists alike that deer vary in body and antler size across the state. Larger deer are thought to be the descendants of the Northern deer that were released in the state during restoration efforts in the 1900s.

Mississippi State University scientists are using genetics to determine the true...


White-tailed deer biologist to speak next week at MSU

White-tailed deer biologist to speak next week at MSU

A renowned white-tailed deer biologist is this year's guest for Mississippi State' 2016 Carlton N. Owen Lecture Series.

David G. Hewitt, the Stuart M. Stedman Chair for White-tailed Deer Research at Texas A&M University, will lead the Monday [Nov.14] program. Open to all, his presentation begins at 1:30 p.m. in the Tully Auditorium of Thompson Hall.

Designated in 1974 by the Mississippi Legislature as one of the state's off...


National training academy to be housed at MSU

National training academy to be housed at MSU

A new partnership between Mississippi State University and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's APHIS Wildlife Services program has made the university home to a national training academy.

On Friday [Aug. 26], MSU President Mark E. Keenum and USDA APHIS Wildlife Services Deputy Administrator William H. Clay signed a "Resolution for Collaboration" to create a national training academy housed at Mississippi State. APHIS &ndas...


Natural resources workshop set for Sept. 29 in Jackson

Natural resources workshop set for Sept. 29 in Jackson

Landowners and hunting clubs eager to earn extra income while improving land management for wildlife are invited to attend a Natural Resource Enterprises Business Workshop.

The Sept. 29 event will take place at the Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation in Jackson, located at 6311 Ridgewood Road.

"Landowners and farmers can seek new and innovative ways to earn extra income," said Daryl Jones, program director and professor of w...


Prehistoric fish discovered in the depths of Bluff Lake

Prehistoric fish discovered in the depths of Bluff Lake

Alligators aren't the only prehistoric creatures lurking in the depths of the Sam D. Hamilton Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge's waterways.

Mississippi State researchers recently recorded unexpectedly high numbers of paddlefish near the refuge's spillway—a shocking discovery given the size of the waterway and what is currently known about paddlefish biology.

Paddlefish are a large fish whose lineage dates back to the ...


Deer antlers may hold health secrets

Deer antlers may hold health secrets

Each spring the woods are littered with antlers as deer shed their old racks to make way for new sets, and these "sheds" may reveal hidden health problems in the bucks that drop them.

To learn more about these lucky finds, many people bring shed antlers to the Mississippi State University Deer Lab, which specializes in deer biology and antler formation.

Steve Demarais, a wildlife biologist in the MSU Forest and Wildlife Res...


BioBlitz dates set for Jackson, Tupelo

BioBlitz dates set for Jackson, Tupelo

Teachers, students and community members are invited to learn about biological diversity and take part in naturalist activities at BioBlitz events in Jackson and Tupelo.

Participants will partner with biologists to track down and identify as many local trees, plants, insects, amphibians, reptiles, mammals and birds as possible. Individuals can help scientists by recording species they see on the free app, iNaturalist.

The M...


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