USM School of Biological, Environmental, and Earth Sciences

Catch Dr. Mac on the latest Mississippi Outdoors Podcast talking about Mississippi flora!

Who Discovers New Plants in Mississippi with Botanist Dr. Mac Alford | MS Outdoors Podcast Have you ever walked through the woods and wondered who figured out what all those plants are — or who's still out there finding new ones? In this episode of...

Congratulations to BEES students on the USM Track and Field team for a great showing at the Southern Miss Invitational this weekend!

1500m | 1st – Addison Rainey (4:38.90, Meet Record), 3rd – Olivia Smith (4:45.26), 7th – Indy Grajalez (4:54.40)

3000m | 1st – Emme Bates (9:43.58, Stadium Record)

4x400m Relay | 7th – O. Smith, I. Grajalez, E. Bates, C. Croy (4:09.27)

Did you know that you can use some of the courses at the GCRL Summer Field program to count toward your Biological Sciences or Biological Sciences (Conservation Biology) degree? The courses listed below can count toward your upper-level biology lab course requirement and may be able to be subbed for other requirements. Check with your advisor for more information.

COA 301/301L - Marine Science II: Marine Biology and Lab
COA 421/421/421L - Marine Ichthyology and Lab
COA 422/422L - Elasmobranch Biology and Lab
COA 428/428L - Marine Invertebrate Zoology and Lab

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It's that time again! Applications are open for Summer Field Program 2026! Join us in celebrating the program's 79th anniversary while learning some of the amazing things about the Mississippi Sound and the Gulf!

Go to usm.edu/sfp to apply today! The priority deadline is April 17, with all applications closing on May 1!

The Dendrology class got to meet Sir Loin!

MLS students are rolling into finals full of cookies and cocoa!

Cookies and Cocoa with ugly sweaters with our MLS students as they finish up the semester. 💛

Allison Wilson finds rare population of Sporobolus junceus in the Ouachita Mountains!

Congrats to SGI’s western region botanist Allison Wilson and volunteer Virginia McDaniel for finding the first known population of Pineywoods Dropseed (Sporobolus junceus) in the Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas on Tuesday. They were sampling vegetation plots in a high-quality sandstone riverscour barrens on the Maumelle River when they found a small population of the rare grass, which is tracked as a species of conservation concern by the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission @ar_naturalheritage. Prior to their discovery, this species was known in Arkansas from just three populations, all in remnant grasslands in the Gulf Coastal Plain and Mississippi Alluvial Plain ecoregions! The site was recently acquired by Central Arkansas Water @centralarwater to help protect the water quality in Lake Maumelle, a downstream reservoir which provides drinking water to Little Rock and surrounding communities. It supports several other rare species including Ouachita Bluestar (Amsonia hubrichtii) and Cumberland Sandreed (Calamovilfa arcuata). Riverscour barrens are a rare grassland natural community of global conservation concern. For more info, check out this SGI-led review paper in the Natural Areas Journal: https://bioone.org/journals/natural-areas-journal/volume-43/issue-3/2162-4399-43.3.148/Riverscour-Ecosystems-of-Eastern-Unglaciated-North-America-A-Review/10.3375/2162-4399-43.3.148.full #notesfromthefield #plantdiscovery #pineywoodsdropseed #sporobulusjunceus #ouachitamountains #riverscour #maumelleriver #remnantgrassland #sgi #grasslandconservation #grasslandresearch

School of BEES student organizations showed up in a big way to help with the annual Red Bluff clean up. Thanks for making a difference!

Come join us in the School of BEES!

🎉 The 2026 freshman application is officially OPEN! Your future at Southern Miss starts now. Whether you're ready to soar or just starting your journey, we're here every step of the way. 🦅💛

Apply today and take the first step toward becoming a Golden Eagle!

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We had a great time recruiting at the MS Outdoor Expo this past weekend!

Southern Miss geography student Aidan Graves first joined the Gulfport Museum of History as an intern, but his deep love for local history kept him coming back as a volunteer. Now, he’s launched a virtual walking tour that brings downtown Gulfport’s hidden stories to life.

Using ArcGIS StoryMaps—a tool he learned in Dr. Kayla Stan’s web mapping course—Graves built an interactive experience just in time for the return of the Amtrak rail service. He hopes this tool helps tourists and locals alike explore Gulfport’s rich history, one stop at a time.

Check out the digital walking tour here: arcg.is/ruSGe0