Jeanne C. Jones

We conducted a survey to evaluate 2003-2008 sales of private rural lands in Mississippi that were purchased for wildlife-related recreational

uses. Land parcels purchased (n=800; totaling 102,611 ha) were predominately forested (45%), followed by agricultural lands (26%), early successional habitats and recently planted pine forests (25%), and other lands (>3%). Hunting (99%) and motorized vehicle use (65%) were common uses reported on properties. Wildlife-related recreation accounted for an estimated 34% (US$1,566/ha) of overall value of rural lands sold. Cover types such as...

Since the 1987 federal listing as threatened of western populations of gopher tortoises (Gopherus polyphemus), tortoise population recovery and habitat restoration efforts have been implemented at Camp Shelby Joint Forces Training Center, Mississippi. We studied plant community and edaphic features around tortoise burrows and at non-occupied locations in 2007. We investigated relationships between burrow presence and habitat characteristics through decision tree and logistic regression analyses. Burrow occurrence was positively related to stem counts of woody plants and species...

Many studies have reported that imported fire ants can have negative impacts to property, wildlife, and ecosystem integrity. Depredation by fire ants can reduce native insect diversity and survival of hatchling birds and reptiles, including gopher tortoises. Because of the potential impacts of fire ants on gopher tortoise recruitment, we assessed infestation levels of red imported fire ants on public and private forest lands in south Mississippi. Our study design focused on surveys for estimation of densities of fire ant mounds on suitable and priority soils for gopher tortoises. We...

Wetlands created by American beaver (Castor canandensis) provide habitat for a diversity of resident and migratory birds. To estimate bird community characteristics of beaver wetlands and adjacent riparian forests, we conducted point count surveys in five beaver wetlands and adjacent floodplain ridges of first- and second-order streams during winter 2001-2002 and spring 2002 in central Mississippi. Ninety bird species were recorded in beaver wetlands and 69 bird species were detected in adjacent upland forests. In beaver wetlands, we recorded 57 species during winter 2001-2002 and 69...

Limited information is available regarding wildlife responses to hurricane-related disturbances. We monitored white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) by spotlight counts on NASA's John C. Stennis Space Center (SSC) during fall-winter periods from 2002-2004 before Hurricane Katrina's landfall and from 2006-2008 post-hurricane to index changes in relative population size. Comparisons of survey results during pre- and post-hurricane periods indicated that deer numbers were stable in years following hurricane landfall. Average number of deer recorded during spotlight counts was 26.7...

To ascertain potential ecological and landowner benefits of non-conventional agricultural systems, this project was designed to monitor cattle production and wildlife utilization of land areas that allow grazing cattle to harvest corn planted with no-till methods. In 2005-2008, study sites were located in four Mississippi counties, including four steer/heifer-grazed and harvested corn fields (SHS) and four conventionally-managed and combine-harvested corn fields (CHS). Forest wildlife species, such as white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), utilize agricultural areas as foraging...