The Nutria in Louisiana: A Current and Historical Perspective

Sasser, Charles E.; Holm, Guerry O.; Evers-Hebert, E.; Shaffer, Gary

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-65663-2_4

Cited by 10 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…Overall carbon storage in the soil was increased >30% by grazer exclusion and carbon stored in belowground biomass was increased by >60% (Figure 6). While many wetland grazing studies focus on the impacts of mammalian grazers such as nutria (Myocastor coypus; e.g., [68]) or livestock (e.g., [69]), waterfowl grazing has been shown to reduce carbon storage in arctic tundra by a similar amount (35%; [70]). This pattern is consistent with grazing studies conducted across a range of ecosystems (e.g., North American, prairie [71]; Mongolian steppes [72]; Himalayan grasslands [38]).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Grazer Exclusion on Carbon Cycling in Created Freshwater Wetlands

Spangler

Tyler

McCalley

2021

Land

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Wetland ecosystems play a significant role in the global carbon cycle, and yet are increasingly threatened by human development and climate change. The continued loss of intact freshwater wetlands heightens the need for effective wetland creation and restoration. However, wetland structure and function are controlled by interacting abiotic and biotic factors, complicating efforts to replace ecosystem services associated with natural wetlands and making ecologically-driven management imperative. Increasing waterfowl populations pose a threat to the development and persistence of created wetlands, largely through intensive grazing that can shift vegetation community structure or limit desired plant establishment. This study capitalized on a long-term herbivore exclusion experiment to evaluate how herbivore management impacts carbon cycling and storage in a created wetland in Western New York, USA. Vegetation, above- and belowground biomass, soil carbon, carbon gas fluxes and decomposition rates were evaluated in control plots with free access by large grazers and in plots where grazers had been excluded for four years. Waterfowl were the dominant herbivore at the site. Grazing reduced peak growing season aboveground biomass by over 55%, and during the summer, gross primary productivity doubled in grazer exclusion plots. The shift in plant productivity led to a 34% increase in soil carbon after exclusion of grazers for five growing seasons, but no change in belowground biomass. Our results suggest that grazers may inhibit the development of soil carbon pools during the first decade following wetland creation, reducing the carbon sequestration potential and precluding functional equivalence with natural wetlands.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Grazer Exclusion on Carbon Cycling in Created Freshwater Wetlands

Spangler

Tyler

McCalley

2021

Land

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“…Swans may have made the list in 1987 because the invasive mute swan ( Cygnus olor ) was rapidly expanding its range and population in North America at the time and just beginning to cause problems (Baldassarre ). The successful implementation of nutria control programs since 2000 (Sasser et al ) may be a reason that nutria did not make the list in the 2017 survey.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wildlife damage to crops: Perceptions of agricultural and wildlife leaders in 1957, 1987, and 2017

2018

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A national survey of wildlife agency directors was conducted during 1957 to determine their perceptions of wildlife damage to agriculture. This study was repeated in 1987, expanding the sample to include chief executive officers of state Farm Bureaus and state Wildlife Extension Specialists as well as wildlife agency leaders. During 2017, we replicated these studies to determine how perceptions of leaders had changed over the past 30 and 60 years. In the 2017 survey, 21 different wildlife species were reported by ≥1 respondent as causing the most damage in their state. Despite the numerous species causing damage, deer (Odocoileus spp.) were listed by most respondents as producing the most agricultural damage in their state. State Farm Bureaus and Wildlife Extension Specialists overestimated the amount of governmental services and products that were available to help farmers in their state. Most respondents believed that wildlife damage to agriculture was a serious problem in their state and had increased during the past 30 years. When survey results were compared, feral hog (Sus scrofa), goose (Anatidae), and wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) were listed more frequently in 2017 than in 1987, suggesting that problems caused by these species have increased in severity during the past 30 years. Use of special shooting and trapping permits issued to farmers had increased over the decades. Governmental agencies were more likely to provide fencing material and noisemakers and plant diversionary crops in 2017 and 1987 than they were in 1957. Modern wildlife management has been remarkably successful in increasing wildlife populations, to the point that some species occur in sufficient numbers in some places to cause remarkable levels of damage to crops and livestock. © 2018 The Wildlife Society.

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“…and, depending on the habitat salinity range, also brackish vegetation like cordgrasses ( Spartina spp.) (Keddy et al, 2007; Sasser et al, 2018). They accelerate wetland loss by impacting wetland vegetation structure and negatively affecting soil formation (Louisiana Wildlife Federation, 2001) (Figure 7).…”

Section: Case Study 2: Coastal Louisiana Wetlandsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing impacts of climate change on selected foundation species and ecosystem services in the South‐Central USA

et al. 2023

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Climate change, interacting with and exacerbating anthropogenic modifications to the landscape, is altering ecosystem structure and function, biodiversity, and species distributions. Among the most visible short-term impacts are the altered ecological roles of foundation species-those species, native or non-native-that create locally stable environmental conditions and strongly influence ecosystem services. Understanding the future of these species is crucial for projecting impacts on ecosystem services at both local and regional scales. Here we present foundation species by ecoregion study cases across the US South-Central Region (Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas), including C 4 grasses, mesquite, and northern bobwhite in the Southern Great Plains, mangroves and nutria in coastal Louisiana wetlands, tiger salamanders and sandhill cranes in wetlands of the Southern Great Plains, and post and blackjack oaks and eastern redcedar in the Cross Timbers ecoregion. These case studies explore the impacts of climate change on foundation species and the consequences for ecosystem services, the outlook for climate adaptation efforts, and the sustainability of restoration in these systems. We underscore risks and vulnerabilities that stakeholders should consider when managing or restoring natural resources and conserving ecosystem services in an increasingly extreme and variable climate. We show that past management, through a lack of understanding or implementation of actions, has exacerbated shifts in invasive species, resulting in significant changes in ecosystem structure and function. These changes, interacting with landscape fragmentation and shifting land use and exacerbated by climate change, can result in critical losses of biodiversity. Unfortunately, lack of public understanding may hinder political support for restoration efforts and climate adaptation strategies crucial for the continued supply of traditional ecosystem services. Furthermore, the resulting invaded systems may provide opportunities for income via new ecosystem services valued by society that may reduce support for restoration to historical baselines, thus further shifting management priorities. These priorities

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The Nutria in Louisiana: A Current and Historical Perspective

Cited by 10 publications

References 25 publications

Effects of Grazer Exclusion on Carbon Cycling in Created Freshwater Wetlands

Effects of Grazer Exclusion on Carbon Cycling in Created Freshwater Wetlands

Wildlife damage to crops: Perceptions of agricultural and wildlife leaders in 1957, 1987, and 2017

Assessing impacts of climate change on selected foundation species and ecosystem services in the South‐Central USA

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