| Patuxent Science Meeting 2006 Poster Abstract |
| | USGS research to assist nutria eradication in Maryland: detection and |
| | monitoring a major need |
| | Haramis GM, O'Connell AF, Kendrot S (USDA APHIS) |
| | In support of interagency initiatives developed cooperatively with the National Invasive Species |
| | Council (NISC), the USGS Invasive Species Program is supporting new research to assist with |
| | nutria eradication and marsh restoration in the Chesapeake Bay region. This new research will |
| | benefit directly the nutria eradication effort managed by the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the |
| | Maryland Department of Natural Resources and their partners, and being carried out by the US |
| | Department of Agriculture's division of Wildlife Services (APHIS). The new research will build on |
| | work first started in 1997 to investigate the role of nutria in the extensive loss of emergent marsh |
| | at the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge in Dorchester County, Maryland. Particular |
| | emphasis will be placed on developing efficient remote sensing methods to monitor the |
| | presence of nutria and to develop approaches to detect nutria at low densities following |
| | systematic removal by trapping. Our goal is to provide managers with science-based |
| | monitoring methods to assess temporal and spatial changes in nutria densities and in so doing |
| | facilitate nutria eradication efforts in the coastal environment. Over 6 square miles of emergent |
| | marsh have been lost to open water on the Refuge since 1938 and much of remaining marsh |
| | has incurred significant damage and will likely be lost in the near future. Foraging activity and |
| | other surface damage by nutria has been determined to be a major contributor to marsh loss. |
| | Friday, September 22, 2006 |