CHAPTER IV: WILDLIFE HABITATS FOR MISSISSIPPI’S SGCN,
THREATS AND CONSERVATION ACTIONS^235patches, each up to 1,000 acres in size. Adjacent habitats include barrier island wetlands and ponds.
Barrier island uplands are gradually being diminished by a lack of
sand aggradations, which are necessary to compensate for normal
losses cause by wind and wave action during storms. The size of the
relict dunes has been diminished and apparently the amount of area
occupied by mobile sand dunes is increasing. Some areas have exotic
weeds (cogongrass). However, the islands are protected as a national
park by federal statues and some areas are designated as
“wilderness”.
This subtype is considered imperiled in the state because of rarity due to its very restricted range; exotic
weeds and loss of territory due to natural erosion processes make this community vulnerable to further
declines.
SPECIES OF GREATEST CONSERVATION NEED ASSOCIATED WITH
BARRIER ISLAND UPLANDS
GROUP SCIENTIFIC NAME COMMON NAME TIER
Birds Charadrius wilsonia Wilson's Plover 1
Haematopus palliatus American Oystercatcher 1
Charadrius alexandrinus tenuirostris Southeastern Snowy Plover 1
Migrant Songbirds 1
Haliaeetus leucocephalus Bald Eagle 2
Sterna nilotica Gull-Billed Tern 2
Rynchops niger Black Skimmer 2
Dendroica cerulea Cerulean Warbler 2
Columbina passerina Common Ground-Dove 2
Sterna antillarum Least Tern 2
Passerina ciris Painted Bunting 2
Sterna maxima Royal Tern 2
Sterna sandvicensis Sandwich Tern 2
Asio flammeus Short-Eared Owl 2
Limnothlypis swainsonii Swainson's Warbler 2
Egretta caerulea Little Blue Heron 2
Egretta rufescens Reddish Egret 2
Eudocimus albus White Ibis 2
Pandion haliaetus Osprey 3
Caprimulgus carolinensis Chuck-Will's-Widow 3
Tyto alba Common Barn-Owl 3
Oporornis formosus Kentucky Warbler 3
Lanius ludovicianus Loggerhead Shrike 3
13.1 Barrier Island UplandsRange of Barrier Island Uplands