Camp Shelby Conservation Programs

The Nature Conservancy in Mississippi
Camp Shelby Conservation Program
Melinda R. Lyman, Matthew G. Hinderliter and James R. Lee
Louisiana Quillwort
Camp Shelby Overview
(Isoetes louisianensis Thieret)
LONGLEAF PINE ECOSYSTEM
FEDERAL AND STATE ENDANGERED
Comprises 134,000 acres within the Longleaf pine
ecosystem of Mississippi
Monitoring Threats
-Anthropogenic and natural
-Part of the USFS DeSoto Ranger District which comprises
over 500,000 acres of Longleaf pine forest.
-Rare ecological communities
-Federal and State listed flora and fauna
Population Viability & Growth Study
-Fill in data gaps in determining future status
-Measure variables that influence adults and sporelings
to determine potential long term impacts
-Five study sites associated with four different
M. Lyman/TNC
watersheds
-Can be potentially incorporated in models used to predict population viability
On-the-Ground Science
-Monitor, evaluate and communicate threats
-Research related to rare species life history and the effects
of habitat management
M. Lyman/TNC
M. Lyman/TNC
Camp Shelby Burrowing Crayfish
Black Pine Snake
Gopher Tortoise
(Fallicambarus gordoni Fitzpatrick)
(Pituophis melanoleucus lodingi Blanchard)
(Gopherus polyphemus Daudin)
FEDERAL CANDIDATE, STATE ENDANGERED
FEDERAL CANDIDATE, STATE ENDANGERED
FEDERALLY THREATENED, STATE ENDANGERED
Candidate Conservation Agreement
Life History & Ecology
-(USFS, MSARNG, USFWS & MDWFP)
-Alleviate threat of changing listing to
threatened or endangered
-TNC scientists perform the monitoring
-Telemetry of adult and juvenile snakes to determine habitat usage,
refugia types along with seasonal activity, mating and nesting
patterns
-Response to restoration activities
Provide habitat management
recommendations
J. Lee/TNC
-Implement adaptive management
-Prioritize areas in need of restoration or other habitat improvements
-Monitor and communicate other threats such as wetland disturbance
Burrow densities & Habitat conditions
-Open Condition (Most favorable)
-Moderate Condition
-Shrub Dominated
-Bottomland Hardwood (Least favorable)
Other Camp Shelby burrowing crayfish projects
-Population genetics study (collaboration with USFS and Carnegie
Museum)
Candidate Conservation Agreement (in review)
-(MSARNG, USFS, USFWS, MDWFP, other agencies being approached)
-Proactive approach to alleviate threat of changing listing to
threatened or endangered
-Includes monitoring of the snake and habitat conditions to
implement adaptive management
Other Black pine snake projects
-Collaborative study of habitat usage on federal lands vs. private lands
-Potential implementation of Candidate
Conservation Agreements with
Assurances (for private land
owners)
-Increase the protected area for the
Black pine snake as well as associate
species on a landscape level
J. Lee/TNC
Juvenile gopher tortoise
-Telemetry at different ages to
determine growth, home range,
burrow use and construction,
movement pattern, cause and extent
of mortality
Predator-proof enclosure
M. Lyman/TNC
-Holds hatchlings until they reach the desired age for field tracking
Current cause and extent of mortality
-Majority of predation by mammals and fire ants
-Mammals prey on all ages of juvenile tortoises
-Fire ants almost exclusively prey on hatchlings (<1 year old)
-Metabolic bone disease (MBD) observed from tortoises placed in the
head start pen after 2007 (thought to be related to pen conditions
receiving repeated dormant season burns). Collaborative work
looking closely as this is currently being initiated.
Movement and activity patterns, home range, growth
and burrow use data are currently being analyzed.