William Howell
William “Mike” Howell was born in Geneva, Alabama. He attended the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa where he received his B.S., M.S., and PhD in education and biology. While there, he studied vertebrate zoology with a major emphasis on ichthyology. Subsequently, he taught biology for 37 years at Samford University and 2 years at Cornell University.
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History of Birmingham’s Endangered Watercress Darter
This is the story of an endangered fish, the Watercress Darter, Etheostoma nuchale Howell and Caldwell 1965. It is a beautiful, multicolored, two-inch (=5.08 cm) fish that lives only in five limestone springs of Birmingham, Jefferson County, Alabama, and its suburbs. I have had a fifty-nine-year relationship with this fish. Thus, I find it necessary to write this account in the first person. This is a personal but factual account, based on my copious collection of photographs, field collections, scientific literature, newspaper clippings, meetings, internet searches, and e-mail exchanges. I have tried my best to be accurate in the facts surrounding this fish. Any mistakes, however, are mine.