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Nutria Introduction to North America

Nutria Introduction to North America. ( Nyocastor coypus ). Physical Characteristics. Has dark brown fur Tail is 12-17 in. long Can weigh 15-20 lbs. Large yellow beaver-like buck teeth Webbed feet Back feet larger than front feet. Nutria Droppings. External Anatomy of the Nutria.

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Nutria Introduction to North America

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  1. Nutria Introduction to North America (Nyocastor coypus)

  2. Physical Characteristics • Has dark brown fur • Tail is 12-17 in. long • Can weigh 15-20 lbs. • Large yellow beaver-like buck teeth • Webbed feet • Back feet larger than front feet Nutria Droppings

  3. External Anatomy of the Nutria

  4. Reproduction • Nutria are apt to breed in any month of the year in North America. • One male usually has 2 or 3 mates which share the same burrow. • Female nutria mature at about 5 1/2 months of age, and female nutria usually have two litters per year. • Many females breed within two days after giving birth to a litter.

  5. Litter Size The first litter is small, with 2 to 4 being born. The second litter is larger with 4 to 6 offspring. The third litter is smaller than the second, and the fourth again increases in size. • For one reason or another, each litter is either larger or smaller than the litter previous preceding it • According to a pattern, if nutria litter sizes were averaged, five would probably be the average size. • Female nutria are capable of producing only 6 litters as a rule. • Females who produce seven litters in their lifetime are rare.

  6. Nutria Nest Site • Nutria build nests in burrows or in dense vegetation.

  7. Native Habitat • Native to southern South America.

  8. SomeHOT!! History Avery Island • Legend has it that in 1937, E.A. McIlhenny brought 13 of the orange-tooth rodents from Argentina to his home on Avery Island, in an effort to diversify Louisiana's fur industry. • Three years later, a hurricane blew down his nutria pen, and the fast-breeding rats escaped to begin reproducing and chomping through the state's fragile marshes. E.A. McIlhenny created Tabasco Sauce

  9. Introduction to North America • The nutria, or coypu, was introduced into the United States in 1899 in California for the fur farming industry. • Since then, they have been introduced to many states and currently have viable populations in 15.

  10. European Range of Nutria North American Range of Nutria

  11. Ecological Effect of Nutria • Nutria excavate and feed on the roots of marsh grasses, creating circles of mud called “eat outs.” • Without plant roots to stabilize the soil, water moves in and washes the exposed soil away, quickly eroding marshes and converting them to open water.

  12. Ecological Problems Cont’d • Nutria also fragment marshes by creating deep swimming channels. These channels: • Trap marsh-dependent, less mobile species into small areas of marsh. • Create more edges that can be exposed to wave action and cause further erosion.

  13. More Ecological Problems • As more marsh plants are removed, damage to wetlands from sea level rise, land subsidence, tidal flooding and salt water increases because there are fewer plants to act as a buffer against erosion. • Wetlands serve as habitat for numerous native Bay animals, including valuable fish, shellfish and waterfowl species. • Nutria have also been known to eat agricultural crops and dig large burrows into river banks, dykes and other structures, causing damage to agricultural land and possibly residential areas in flood-prone zones.

  14. And Yet More Ecological Problems • Nutria have also been known to eat agricultural crops and dig large burrows into river banks, dykes and other structures, causing damage to agricultural land and possibly residential areas in flood-prone zones. Ex. Of Nutria “Eat Out”

  15. Economical Effect of Nutria • A recent economic study estimated that nutria-related destruction of Maryland bay region wetlands would cost over $200 million in social, economic and environmental damages over the next 50 years, if not addressed.

  16. Management Implications • Since 2000, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has administered the Nutria Project, which is responsible for eradicating nutria from the Bay region. • Nutria eradication has resulted in the recovery and protection of several hundred thousand acres of marshland in Maryland. • In 2004, nutria were successfully removed from the Blackwater NWR after a concentrated two-year effort • Work to eradicate the animal from state and private lands continues. Nutria still remain on the lower Eastern Shore and around the Potomac and Patuxent rivers; however, their numbers continue to dwindle

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