e-journal

An indirect method for assessing the abundance of introduced pest Myocastor coypus (Rodentia) in agricultural landscapes

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Pest management requires the development of robust monitoring tools. In Italy,
coypu Myocastor coypus (nutria) have been controlled since the early 1990s,
but the effectiveness of these measures has never been tested. With the aim
of developing a reliable and volunteer-based method for the long-term monitoring
of coypu abundance in agricultural landscapes, we calibrated an index
based on surveys for coypu paths against density estimates obtained through a
standardized mark–recapture technique. Two trapping sessions were performed
in winter for each of 12 1-km long stretches of irrigation canals and watercourses
using 15 baited cage traps. Trapping sessions lasted 7 days each, with a
10-day break between sessions. Population size was assessed using three
methods: Peterson–Lincoln’s formula, capwire estimators and accumulation
curves. Active coypu paths and five habitat variables were recorded by walking
on the edge of both banks. The variables were then related to population size
(y) by means of multi-regressive models, testing for the predictive power of the
selected models by leave-one-out cross-validation. Multi-regressive models
included only the number of coypu paths with the best performances achieved
by the model based on Peterson–Lincoln formula, supporting path count
as an effective method to assess the abundance of the coypu in agricultural
landscapes. Concurrently, to assess the field suitability of the indirect method,
surveys for coypu paths were carried out on 122 randomly chosen 3-km
long stretches of irrigation canals and watercourses in the central part of the
River Po valley (c. 15 000 km2; N Italy). The highest (>8/100 m) mean number
of paths was recorded in the central part of the study area. According to the
regression models, the overall number of coypu is predicted to range between
350 000 and 1 100 000, raising doubts about the effectiveness of current control
measures.

Keywords:
Coypu; nutria; invasive species; introduction
range; monitoring; volunteer; pest
management; population estimates.

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Informasi Detail

Judul Seri

Journal of Zoology

No. Panggil

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Penerbit

London : The Zoological Society of London., 2016

Deskripsi Fisik

Journal of Zoology 298 (2016) 37–45

Bahasa

English

ISBN/ISSN

0952-8369 - doi:10.1

Klasifikasi

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Tipe Isi

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Tipe Media

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Tipe Pembawa

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Edisi

298 (2016)

Subjek

ZOOLOGY

Info Detail Spesifik

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Pernyataan Tanggungjawab

agus

Versi lain/terkait

Lampiran Berkas

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