Gulf sturgeon
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For the past three years, Kayla Kimmel and other Fisheries Biologists from the US Fish and Wildlife Service, with the help from volunteers and partners, have been conducting summer sampling for juvenile Gulf sturgeon on the lower Pearl River. The sturgeon captured are tagged and released and will help biologist estimate the population size for this Threatened species.
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Frecklebelly madtom
Click here to read Matt Wagner's madtom study (photo courtesy Matt Wagner)
MS Department of Wildlife Fisheries and Parks ichthyologist, Matt Wagner, studies and counts fish species populations throughout the state of Mississippi. Recently, Matt conducted a study of the Frecklebelly Madtom, a species that has been petitioned for listing on the federal endangered species list. In the Alabama River, the Madtom was completely eradicated after the construction of 2 dams and other river impoundments. This very small fish is sensitive to high levels of sedimentation which leads to loss of its gravel habitat. Conservation actions recommended by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: "The present state of the Tombigbee, Pearl, Cahaba, and Conasauga Rivers should be preserved by stopping impoundment. Watershed-wide approaches to erosion control should be developed and encouraged. Riparian buffer zones could help greatly in controlling bank erosion. Activities that destabilize bottom structure such as channelization, dredging, and bridge construction should be very prudently managed."
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Ringed sawback and Pearl River map turtles
Click here to read Dr. Selman's study (photo courtesy Dr. Will Selman)
Dr. Will Selman, Assistant Professor of Biology at Millsaps College, and his students have conducted studies of the Ringed Sawback and Pearl River Map Turtle in the Jackson segment of the Pearl River. "The Pearl River system hosts two unique turtle species: the Ringed Sawback (Graptemys oculifera) and the Pearl Map Turtle (Graptemys pearlensis). Neither of these species can be found anywhere else in the world… only the Pearl River system of Mississippi and Louisiana! The Ringed Sawback was designated as federally threatened in 1986, while the Pearl Map Turtle was petitioned in 2011 to be listed under the Endangered Species Act. Both turtle species are of conservation concern for a number of reasons mainly associated with alterations to their river habitat. Alterations include construction of dams, channelization of rivers, and excess river sedimentation".
Prothonotary warbler
Photo courtesy Bill Stripling, Jackson Audubon Society
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In the year 2000, the Jackson Audubon Society began placing nest boxes for Prothonotary Warblers around Lefleur’s Bluff State Park, along the Pearl River in Jackson. More recently, the conservation project has placed nest boxes near the river north of the park at Fannye Cook Natural Area, and above the Barnett Reservoir in the Pearl River Wildlife Management Area. These boxes provide nesting cavities that help replace the natural tree cavities in riverside and swampy forests missing due to habitat loss. The nest boxes are cleaned and repaired each year in late winter or early spring. As of 2019, Audubon Society volunteers monitor fifteen of the forty-plus boxes each week of nesting season, recording numbers of eggs and chicks, observing parenting behavior and measuring nesting material. The data is provided to Audubon Louisiana, where it is compared to similar projects, all with the goal of learning more about Prothonotary Warblers and reversing the declining population numbers.
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Prothonotary warbler nest box usage, Jackson Audubon Society
