Pomacea canaliculata (Lamarck, 1822) At Arlington Park Cemetery Lake

    During a visit to Tree Hill Nature Center on Lone Star Road in the Arlington section of Jacksonville on November 7, 2007 to photograph terrestrial snails, this reporter visited the small lake in the Arlington Park Cemetery - ostensibly to check for the presence of our native Pomacea paludosa (Say, 1829) Florida Applesnail. This lake had been investigated twice previously since 2005 and no evidence of any aquatic species was seen at that time. However during this recent visit three large relatively fresh Pomacea egg clutches were found on a round concrete culvert at the extreme north end of the lake thus indicating that a breeding population of Channeled Apple Snails was present. A cursory search of both the nearly dry ditch which feeds the lake as well as the lake shoreline failed to yield any further egg clutches or actual snails. A second visit was made to the lake the next day and the entire lake shoreline was examined more closely. No additional egg clutches were found and no snails of any species were seen. The area of the culvert was then dredged (including up to 12 feet inside the culvert underneath the road) and no evidence of aquatic mollusks was forthcoming.

     A third trip was made to the lake on 11/15/2007. The lake water level which had been high during the earlier visits, had returned to a more normal level. The remains of three additional egg clutches were found on vegetation some 20 feet from the culvert where the initial find was made. These egg clutches had been submerged and thus not visible during the two previous visits. Despite the lowered water level no Pomacea specimens could be located and It is believed that snail population in the lake is quite small and is the result of a recent introduction.

   Over the ensuing years the lake was periodically monitored, and as of 2016, no further evidence of Pomacea was seen. Finally, nearly ten years after the initial discovery of Channeled Apple Snail eggs at the lake, success was achieved (see page two).

Cemetery Lake Looking North To Where The Egg Clutches Were Found

Cemetery Lake Looking North To Where The Egg Clutches Were Found

Concrete culvert at north end of the lake (2007)

Culvert with one of the egg clutches visible (2007)

Concrete culvert at north end of the lake (2007)

Culvert with one of the egg clutches visible (2007)

Back

Page Two