Cover

CHAPTER IV: WILFLIFE HABITATS FOR MISSISSIPPI’S SGCN,

THREATS AND CONSERVATION ACTIONS^189

LOCATION, SIZE, CONDITION AND CONSERVATION STATUS

EGCP, UEGP, MSRAP

Ephemeral ponds, located in small depressions in floodplains and uplands, are
usually associated with bottomland hardwoods or swamp forests in the lowlands
and pinelands in the uplands, but can be surrounded by open pasture or
cultivated land. During the wet season the temporary ponds may cover large
areas on lowland flats but are significantly reduced in size and number in the
dry season.

Rapid urbanization in the southern part of the state has reduced the quality of
many ephemeral ponds and has increased the potential for the introduction of waterborne diseases into
the ponds. Fragmentation of habitat surrounding the ponds and lack of fire to help maintain their
integrity has reduced the quality of these ponds.

Grady ponds are critically imperiled in the state because of extreme rarity and because of rapid
urbanization and fragmentation that have contributed to significant declines of this subtype. Other
ephemeral ponds are vulnerable because of disruption of streamflow caused by water control structures.

SPECIES OF GREATEST CONSERVATION NEED ASSOCIATED WITH
EPHEMERAL (TEMPORARY) PONDS

GROUP SCIENTIFIC NAME COMMON NAME TIER
Amphibians Rana sevosa Mississippi Gopher Frog 1
Hemidactylium scutatum Four-Toed Salamander 2
Pseudacris ornata Ornate Chorus Frog 2
Rana areolata Crawfish Frog 2
Bufo nebulifer Gulf Coast Toad 3
Pseudacris brachyphona Mountain Chorus Frog 3
Ambystoma tigrinum Tiger Salamander 4
Birds Grus canadensis pulla Mississippi Sandhill Crane 1
Coturnicops noveboracensis Yellow Rail 1
Laterallus jamaicensis Black Rail 1
Migrant Shorebirds 1
Eudocimus albus White Ibis 2
Mycteria americana Wood Stork 2
Egretta caerulea Little Blue Heron 2
Anas fulvigula Mottled Duck 2
Calidris canutus Red Knot 2
Charadrius melodus Piping Plover 2
Limosa fedoa Marbled Godwit 2
Rallus elegans King Rail 2
Sterna antillarum athalassos Interior Least Tern 2

Range of Ephemeral

(Temporary) Ponds