Baymeadows Road, Southeastern Duval County

      As part of an on-going project to formally document the presence of Pomacea paludosa (Say, 1829) [Florida Applesnail] in northeast Florida, on June 6, 2006 a visit was made to the Baymeadows area of Duval County. As this reporter was driving south on Baymeadows Road near the intersection of Baymeadows Circle East, a concrete structure laden with Pomacea paludosa egg clutches was spotted alongside the road near a very small retention pond. Immediately investigating, this small pond (now considerably smaller due to lack of precipitation) was found to have a sizable breeding Pomacea population and even a resident duck. Suspecting that the Pomacea had entered the pond via the area's underground drainage system, nearby water bodies were checked with negative results. Since the partially abandoned Baymeadows Golf Course was less than a block away, the water hazards on the course were then investigated and a single large live Pomacea was found although no egg clutches were in evidence.

    On June 9th a return visit was made to the area and a significantly larger retention pond was discovered adjacent to the BP gas station at 9475 Baymeadows Road that also had a large thriving Pomacea paludosa population. Interestingly, the pond also had a population of large Uniomerus carolinianus (Bosc, 1801) [Florida Pondhorn] - a species that isn't particularly common in other county impoundments/waterways. Several additional golf course water hazards were also investigated during the trip but no evidence of Pomacea was observed.

    Although little drainage from the golf course or retentions ponds area was evident, this area is likely a part of the Pottsburg Creek Watershed.

Roadside retention pond on Baymeadows Road

Pomacea egg clutches visible from Baymeadows Road