Mountain Lake Biological Station

Mountain Lake Biological Station is a residential field station located atop Salt Pond Mountain in the southern Appalachians of southwestern Virginia. The station is remote, but is accessible by car. The MLBS community is diverse and welcoming!

Programs include summer field courses, internships, research projects, scientific meetings, workshops, artist residencies, and outreach activities. Scientists conduct research in plant and animal population biology, behavioral ecology, life history evolution, community ecology, ecological genetics, biosystematics, epidemiology, conservation biology, the physiology of behavior, and more. MLBS is a NEON (National Ecological Observatory Network) site. Researchers and others interested in using the station are invited to get in touch for more information on how MLBS can support their work.

The Station is most active during the summer season, but research support and limited housing is available year round.

Year Founded
1930
Year Joined OBFS
1993
Size of Field Station (hectares)
101-500
FSML Web Address
https://mlbs.virginia.edu/

Private nonprofit organization?
No
Universities affiliated / Parent Organization
University of Virginia
Federal, state, or local governmental partners?
NEON
Member of the Virtual Field
No

Additional Information

Private nonprofit organization?
Names of Universities affilated
0
Federal, state, or local governmental partners?
NEON
Name of partner
Tribal partners/users
No
MSI/HBCU users
Yes
Community College users
Yes
Member of the Virtual Field
No

Visiting a FS/ML

Open to the Public
No
Year round staff
3-5
Seasonal staff
1-2
Overnight housing facilities/# of beds
50+
Distance to emergency services
21-40 minutes
Library
Yes
Hiking trails
Yes
Internship employment
Yes

Environmental Information

Biomes
Temperate Forest
Minimum Elevation
751-1500 meters
Maximum Elevation
751-1500 meters
Köppen climate classification
C (temperate)
Freshwater habitats
Yes
Urban or rural
Agricultural fields
No

Research

REU host station
Yes
Dry lab space
Yes
Wet Lab space
Yes
Research vessels available
No
GIS capacity on site
Yes
Long term data sets
Yes
On site herbarium or voucher species
Formal Data Management Plan
No
Mesocosms, plots, stream diversions, or other sets ups for outdoor manipulative experiments
Yes
Date Joined OBFS
July 17, 2024