Florida State College Jacksonville (FSCJ) South Campus

Florida State College Jacksonville (FSCJ) South Campus
*As part of an on-going project to formally document the presence of Pomacea paludosa* (Say, 1829)** [Florida Applesnail] in northeast Florida, this reporter conducted a visit to a medium sized lake on the property of the Florida State College Jacksonville (FSCJ) South Campus in southeastern Duval County at 11901 Beach Boulevard on January 21, 2006. Upon arrival at the lake, what tenuously appeared to be an old Pomacea paludosa egg clutch was discovered on a concrete drainage pipe near the campus administrative building. This prompted a more thorough investigation of the lake shoreline which included circumnavigating the entire lake. During this trek, hundreds of dead Pomacea shells were seen on both the lake bottom and bank as well as a limited number of egg clutches. Ultimately, a limited number of live specimens were found in the south end of the lake closest to Beach Boulevard. The unusually large number of dead shells (both freshly deceased and obviously much older) indicate that the species has been present in the lake for many years and the lake has a large breeding Pomacea population. One unusual aspect of the lake was the presence of a large number of small leeches which were found clinging to the shells of both live and dead specimens. One such live Pomacea found during a February 3, 2006 visit had nearly a dozen leeches on the ventral surface to include the operculum . This is the first time that this reporter has found leeches in such large numbers and also attached to a Pomacea paludosa shell. It's also worth noting that the Pomacea specimens from this lake show considerable variation in shell shape as compared to those from other impoundments in Duval County - specifically in regards to the height of the spire [see image]. Also an unusual freak specimen was found [see image]. Other aquatic species seen in the lake included: Planorbella duryi (*Wetherby, 1879) Seminole Rams-horn, Physella heterostropha* (Say, 1817) Pewter Physa,** Elliptio jayensis (I. Lea, 1838) Florida Spike, Utterbackia imbecillis (Say, 1829) Paper Pondshell, and Melanoides tuberculata (Müller, 1774) Red-rim Melania - the latter two being exotic species.



Southern End Of The Lake Looking North	Southwestern End Of The Lake Looking Northeast

Pomacea paludosa At The Lake In Search Of food	Pomacea paludosa At The Lake Mating