Jones Creek "Plant," Southeastern Duval County, Florida
    Jones Creek is one of several normally small shallow urban drainage ditches that drain storm water run-off from residential areas in the East Arlington area of Jacksonville, Duval County, Florida to the St. Johns River. Other nearby waterways which serve the same function include the periodically studied Gunsmoke Creek that feeds into Holly Oaks lake before emptying into the St. Johns River. Considering their source, neither waterway could be considered pristine, especially in the downstream areas where they are filled with the cast off debris of man, stagnant discolored water, and rampant algae growth. However, one western tributary of Jones Creek, although littered with debris, some 50 years after the area was developed still has clear flowing water over a clean sandy bottom and supports a thriving native freshwater bivalve population. This tributary drains an apparent spring fed lake at The Park at Regency Apartments before passing close by a lake at the Atrium Retirement Community on its way to the river. The former has a healthy breeding Pomacea paludosa population while the latter also has or had a resident Pomacea population. It therefore seems likely that this section of Jones Creek at one time in the distant past also was populated by the species. The periodic dredging of the waterways by local government entities could have resulted in their extirpation.

    To test the suitability of this waterway to support a breeding population of Pomacea paludosa, a total of 18 adult Pomacea paludosa were collected from a lake at the Florida State College Jacksonville (FSCJ) South Campus on 2-3 April, 2006 and introduced into Jones Creek just south of Byrnes Road. This "plant" will be monitored on a regular basis to ascertain its status and observations will be entered below.

Jones Creek at the "Plant" site

 Jones Creek at the "Plant" site

Jones Creek at the "Plant" site
Observations:
  • 4/4/2006 PM - A check of the plant area revealed that all the transplanted specimens had dispersed. No specimens could be located.
  • 4/6/2006 PM - No live Pomacea could be located. However, a freshly dead/devoured specimen was found in the plant area with significant shell damage.
  • 4/8/2006 AM - No Pomacea were observed. Eleven additional live specimens (nine from Floria State College Jacksonville south campus and two from Lake Oneida at the University of North Florida) were planted in a more sheltered area of the creek.
  • 4/13/2006 PM - No live Pomacea could be found. However, two devoured specimens were located - including one that had significant shell damage.
  • 4/29/2006 AM - A thorough search was conducted but no Pomacea, living or dead, could be located. Despite extremely dry conditions due to lack of precipitation, water flow was still good.
  • 5/3/2006 PM - None of the previously planted specimens were seen (dead or alive). Twenty-seven additional live specimens collected from a small pond In Oceanway were transplanted into the creek.
  • 5/22/2006 PM - Three dead Pomacea shells were located including one that was recently deceased with operculum intact. No living specimens or egg clutches could be located. Extremely dry weather conditions has reduced water flow in the creek to only a trickle although deep pockets remain.
  • 8/2/2006 PM - The entire length of the plant area was thoroughly scrutinized and no Pomacea, living or dead, could be located. However, three Pomacea egg clutches (one relatively fresh and two that had previously hatched) were found on a concrete culvert where the creek flows under Byrnes Road - a location just downstream from the plant area. While at least some of the total of 56 transplanted specimens survived, mated, and ultimately deposited egg clutches, it remains to be seen whether they will survive until the next mating season during the spring of 2007.
  • 5/10/2007 PM - With Pomacea egg laying season in full swing throughout northeast Florida, the concrete culvert area at Byrnes Road was thoroughly examined to determine whether any new egg clutches had been deposited. However, none could be located suggesting that a viable breeding population had not survived the winter.
  • 5/15/2010 - The site was examined on a periodic basis since 2007 and no evidence was found to indicate that any of the snails transplanted to the creek (or any their offspring which hatched from the egg clutches) survived.

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