An update on the distribution of the coypu, Myocastor coypus, in Asia and Africa through published literature, citizen-science and online platforms

Abstract

The coypu, Myocastor coypus, has been introduced worldwide for fur farming and is widely recognized as one of the most invasive alien mammals of the world, affecting natural ecosystems, crops and possibly human health. Here we present a comprehensive up-to-date review of its distribution and status in Asia and Africa. Using a multi-source approach, we collected occurrences from published literature as well as from online biodiversity platforms (e.g. GBIF, iNaturalist), video sharing platforms, and local experts. Additionally, we used an ensemble modelling approach to predict the climatic suitability across Africa and Asia. We present an updated distribution map, including a total of 1506 spatially explicit records from 1973 to 2021, covering 1 African and 16 Asian countries. We find evidence for current populations in Kenya and five new countries since the last review of (Carter and Leonard, Wildl Soc Bull 30:162–175, 2002): Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam, and identify main clusters of coypu occurrence in Western (including Transcaucasia) and East Asia. We show that warm temperate and Mediterranean areas on both continents are predicted to be climatically suitable for the coypu and highlight not only areas of possible spread, but also potential data gaps, i.e. with high suitability and low availability of concrete information (e.g. China, Southern Russia). We emphasize the importance of citizen involvement and the urgency for coypu-targeted studies in data-poor regions to obtain a clear picture of the geographical distribution and to better address management strategies.

Using Citizen Science Tools for Distance Field Study of Botanical Cycle Disciplines in Times of Pandemic and Beyond

“…The website and relevant application have already been used in the education process actively (Echeverria et al, 2021;Hernawati et al, 2020;Panitsa et al, 2021;Unger et al, 2021;Young et al, 2021a). This platform has already shown its effectiveness in the monitoring of local biodiversity (Young et al, 2021a), including invasive species (Keet & Richardson, 2022;Pittarello et al, 2021;Young et al, 2021b), the discovery of new species for science (Winterton, 2020), the study of modern changes in species ranges (Jones et al, 2019;Pedruzzi et al, 2022), and the search of answers to some ecological questions (Putman et al, 2021;Vardi et al, 2021). Also, iNaturalist provides a standardized and cost-efficient enhancement to specimen collection and curation that can be easily adapted for specific research purposes or other collection types beyond herbaria (Heberling & Isaac, 2018).…”